


Mindy Lahiri's Diary

by prideandfangirling



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen, bridget jones's diary - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-04-01
Packaged: 2018-01-10 21:38:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1164823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prideandfangirling/pseuds/prideandfangirling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU based off the novel/movie "Bridget Jones's Diary"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hey, lovelies! Hope you enjoy the first chapter! I have the story outlined and while I'm a little anxious about making sure everything works out I'm suuuuuper excited about doing this AU. Not only am I combining first person diary entries and third person but also quotes/format lifted directly from the book and movie so here's your heads up if that's not your thing.
> 
> Disclaimer: Neither The Mindy Project nor Bridget Jones's Diary belong to me, though it would be nice to have my own Danny Castellano or Mark Darcy.

**January 1**

_New Year’s Resolutions:_   
_\- Lose fifteen pounds_   
_\- Stop resorting to retail therapy and instead work out frustrations in gym. Shopping is not considered cardio._   
_\- Will put last night’s underwear in the laundry basket and will also make sure emergency underwear is reserved for only emergency  situations and not because am too lazy to do laundry._   
_\- Find a sensible boyfriend and stop forming romantic attachments to any of the following: vegans, commitment-phobics, megalomaniacs, douche bags, and pervs. This means no more fantasies about a person who embodies all of the aforementioned characteristics, such as a certain  Brendan Deslaurier. He’s a “holistic healer” and yet his pretentiousness does nothing but cause intrigue. Must stop._

_I’m treating this diary as a way to document me taking control of my life and to tell the truth about Mindy Lahiri, the whole truth. The good, the bad, and the fab._

* * *

 

            Mindy pauses her writing upon noticing the train is nearing the Boston station and closes the red and cream dot Kate Spade journal her younger brother Rishi had given her for Christmas, tucking it into her bag. Even though she was at a New Year’s party roughly twelve hours prior and is slightly hung over from said party, she travels the five hours by train from New York City to Boston to attend her brother and his roommate’s traditional Mimosa Brunch that they’ve held on New Year’s Day for the past few years. After departing from her train, she manages to grab a cab and takes the short drive to her brother’s townhouse.

            “Mindy! About time you got here! Richie and I have some good news for you,” Rishi says as he answers the door, grabbing his sister’s coat once she’s inside.

            “Are you and Richie dating? I knew it was weird that two people could be such close friends with similar names. I told you, I love and accept you no matter who you choose to be with.”

            Rishi rolls his eyes at his sister. “Can you stop?  This is not about me; this is about you and your love life, or lack of. Richie finally persuaded his older brother to come for brunch and since he knows how much you long to be Rachel McAdams he thought this would be the perfect plan. Rich,” calling towards his roommate, who was on his way out the kitchen with a tray of mimosas. “Hey, tell her about Dan, will you? I gotta go and help Johnny finish the rest of the food. When will we learn to serve the brunch first and then the drinks?” shaking his head as he walks past Richie and into the kitchen.

            Richie raises the tray to Mindy, offering her a drink. “Happy New Year to you and is that what you’re wearing?” looking up and down at Mindy, taking in her red flannel shirt, black pants, and black Converse sneakers. “You look like you’re on your way to a Tegan and Sara concert. Did Rishi forget to mention we have my brother here for you?”

            Sighing, Mindy takes a sip of orange juice and champagne before answering. “No, no one told me anything and considering I went to bed at two in the morning just to get up and grab the six o clock train to Boston I was going more for comfort than man trapping. And what’s wrong with Tegan and Sara?”

            “Absolutely nothing is wrong with them,” Richie assures her quickly. “Okay, so my brother Dan is a divorced doctor and works in the city. He’s single and you should totally go say hello to him. Maybe get him a drink from our mimosa bar and shake things up. He’s too traditional and uptight for his own good sometimes. You know? Come on, I’ll go introduce you to him.”

            Wondering how long it would take for her friends and family to realize that their good intentions at fixing her love life only resulted in failed attempts, Mindy begrudgingly follows Richie, downing the rest of her mimosa in the process and handing the glass to her brother as he walks out of the kitchen with a plate of bagels.  Standing by the glass door that leads into the backyard is a dark haired man who fills out his navy blue sweater nicely and his jeans even better.  _Ding dong. Maybe this was the mysterious Mr. Right I’ve been waiting to meet my whole life. Maybe this is my meet cute._  The man turns around with a small scowl on his face.  _Maybe not._

            “Dan, this is Rishi’s older sister, Mindy. Mindy, this is my brother Daniel.”

            Daniel nods stiffly at Mindy but doesn’t even mutter a simple hello. Mindy, sensing this is going nowhere fast, grabs a drink from Richie’s tray and tries to take a huge gulp while trying to remain as discreet as possible as to not give Daniel the impression that she’s an alcoholic.

            Richie takes this moment to turn around, squinting his eyes as if searching for something. “Did you hear my name? I think someone is calling my name. I’ll be right back. You guys have fun!” He takes off quickly, leaving his silent older brother and Mindy to fend for themselves.

            “So,” Mindy starts, attempting to make conversation, “did you have a good New Year’s?”

            “It was tolerable. Did you stay in the city?”

            Mindy nods excitedly, taking a small drink before continuing. “I went to The Darby with a couple of friends. I’m not even sure how we got in because it was so packed but I’m really glad I did. I saw Beyonce in the bathroom and asked how Blue Ivy was doing and she was so nice and just laughed and told me she was at home sleeping and then she actually wished me a happy New Year’s! Which is what I wish I was doing right now. Sleeping off my hangover I mean! Not raising my daughter or anything. I’m single with no children.”  _Oh fuck._  Embarrassed by her lack of a filter, Mindy tosses the rest of her mimosa back and pinches the bridge of her nose.

            “Well,” Daniel starts, clearing his throat, “I think they’ve finally finished setting up the food so if you’ll excuse me,” making a quick getaway.

            After making a fool of herself in front of a complete stranger, having had two mimosas, and not nearly enough sleep, Mindy figures she needs to get something to eat so she can spend some time with her baby brother and start her journey back into the city as soon as she possibly can. As she’s spreading cream cheese onto a bagel, she overhears Richie and Daniel arguing by the stairs behind the dining room and freezes the moment that she hears her name being mentioned.

            “Mindy is a freaking doctor, Dan. Out of anyone you should know how hard working and smart a person has to be to get through medical school. Stop being such an ass and give her a chance. I’ve known her for a few years now and she’s a great person and-” Richie insists.

            Daniel interrupts Richie, “Oh, boy. Where do I even start? I do not need a blind date so I would appreciate it if you would stop setting me up with these desperate females I have absolutely nothing in common with, especially ditzy, verbally incompetent spinsters who care more about what shampoo a celebrity is using more than the upcoming election, who drinks like a fish, and dresses like a member of Two Direction or whatever boy band craze is currently sweeping the nation.” He stops when he realizes Mindy is close enough to hear the conversation.

            “Richie, I just got an emergency at the hospital I need to go handle,” Mindy says, flashing him a large smile. “Tell Rishi I’ll call him later and thanks so much for inviting me. I’ll come see you guys soon.” She slaps a few slices of bacon in between the bagel halves and wraps it in a napkin before nudging her way past the two men. “Daniel,” she nods at the older brother. “Happy New Year’s.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the wait! It's a bit more difficult to try and merge the two stories together than I thought but hopefully this will do! I should have the next chapter up before the weekend is through so fingers crossed on that. How are we surviving the hiatus so far? I like to go by weeks (9 Tuesdays left, 8 Tuesdays left, etc) because the days get hella depressing for my liking. Alright, on to the story! Thank you guys for everything! xo

**January 2**

_I cannot believe it’s the day after and I’m still upset over that man. Who does he think he is? I love Rishi and I’m sure that both he and Richie had their hearts in the right place but there is absolutely no way they thought that the two of us could work. Daniel might be a handsome jerk with really nice shoulders and arms but there has to be a reason he’s divorced and single. And he’s supposed to be a doctor?! I would hate to see his bedside manners._

_That’s it, I’m done. Something has to change soon or I’m going to live a life where my major relationship is with a bottle of wine and frankly, after falling asleep to “Amelie” last week and waking up thinking I’ve been shot because I’ve spilled so much red wine all over me cannot happen ever again. That and wasting wine is a crime. Who I have been is not who I’m going to be._

_This year I am going to make sure to stick to my resolutions or else. Or else what is where I’m a little unsure of but whatever, I’ll get there. It’s only four tiny little resolutions. I should be fine, right?_

* * *

  **January 3**

_Back to work and you would have thought that the nice little holiday break we had would have made Beverly relax but no such luck because she still thinks she’s in charge. You’d think that with me being an actual obstetrician/gynecologist and her being a medical assistant she would learn but nooo._

_There was an awkward moment when Shauna was talking about her latest boy toy and I ended up loudly calling him a “dick waffle” when I see Shauna’s already large brown eyes grow even bigger because none other than Brendan is standing behind us. Ugh. He just smiled at me with a raised eyebrow and handed me a stack of papers to file before walking away. Thankfully Shauna grabbed the papers and said she would take care of it because they were only appointment confirmations and my next patient would be waiting on me if I didn’t hurry._

_I swear that man is infuriating. Just because he chose a more natural way of healing (what does that even mean?) and I didn’t, he thinks I just screw around doing nothing all day in the office._

_Speaking of screwing around, I bet he would be really good in bed. All sorts of rough and Fifty Shades. Oh no, I need to stop. It’s not even the first week and I’m about to break the most important of my resolutions._

* * *

  **January 5**

            Walking into the office after her lunch break, Mindy notices Brendan’s door is open and sees his brother, Duncan, and him having a conversation. Though she walks with her head held high, looking straight ahead as if the older Delorea was nonexistent, she can feel his eyes on her black tight clad legs and she flips her hair over her shoulder as a small sign of success. With people still coming back from holiday vacations the week has been slow and Mindy takes the opportunity to catch up on paperwork and trying to get the elusive speaker for the upcoming medical conference at the end of the month. Duncan leaves Brendan’s office and a few moments after that the email notification on her computer goes off.

**_Dr. Lahiri,_ **   
**_I’ve noticed your skirt seems to be missing today. Is it off sick? I can always refer a recipe for a healing broth if necessary._**   
**_Dr. Delorea_**

            Mindy lets out a small, incredulous gasp before covering her mouth and continuing to stare at the computer screen. She glances down at the black and white chevron patterned skirt and while a little on the short side it is hardly nonexistent so she wonders what Brendan is up to. Taking a moment to think her reply through she pulls her keyboard closer to her, hands hesitating just above the keys.

**_Dr. Delorea,_ **   
**_Skirt is neither sick nor absent. I’m absolutely appalled at your sizest attitude to my skirt and perhaps you are the sick one and should take some of your own broth._**   
**_Dr. Lahiri_**

            “There,” Mindy murmured to herself. “That’ll teach him.” Before she can even get back to the insurance form she was working on, a  _ding_  from the computer alerting her to a new email causes her to see what the reply from Brendan says.

**_Mindy,_ **   
**_I really would love to send flowers to both you and your skirt to apologize for my horrible attitude, as causing any sort of distress was not my intention. Maybe even a dinner to make up for it if the flowers aren’t enough. Care to provide me with your number so I can make the proper arrangements? And please, call me Brendan; I think “doctor” is so distancing._**   
**_Brendan_**

Realizing that breaking her resolutions is once again on the horizon, Mindy pulls out her cell phone, calling her best friend, Gwen, who mercifully answers on the second ring.

“Very bad start to the year, Gwen,” Mindy hisses, getting up to close her office door for some privacy. “Have been seduced by informality of messaging medium into flirt with the office scoundrel and I need advice on how to stop.”

“Mindy? Why are you talking in sentence fragments?”

“Not the point! I need help so could you please help me?”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. What is so wrong that you need my help with before your work day is even done?

Sighing at the tone her best friend is giving through the phone, Mindy starts, “Brendan, the holistic doctor in my office sent me some emails just now.”

“The midwife?”

“Is there really a difference between midwife and the BS naturopathy degree he graduated with? He’s only a doctor because he has a doctorate. Anyway, he was talking about how my skirt must be sick because apparently it’s so short it’s considered nonexistent and how he wants to take me out to dinner to make up for how rude he was about my skirt after I called him out on it and Gwen I cannot let him sweet talk me after just a few emails!” After blurting everything out in one go, Mindy pauses to catch her breath, waiting for her best friend’s response.

“Uh, Mindy? Pretty sure that’s sexual harassment and in no way cute. Do you want Carl to find a lawyer for you?”

Mindy groans. “Damn it, Gwen. You’re right but don’t forget who was scooped up by a guy who was like, twice her age. Now let’s get back on track to what I should do about Brendan.  Should I give him my number and see where it goes or do I leave everything like it is?”

“Just to make sure, this is the really huge vegan a-s-s-h-o-l-e who goes through women like he changes underwear and thinks that because you’re an actual doctor instead of some quack like he is that you’re beneath him, right?”

“Did Riley just walk into the room?” Mindy sighs. “But yes, that’s him. He is not a quack, by the way, even if some of the techniques he uses haven’t actually been proven to be entirely scientifically accurate. “

“Honestly I would just ignore him and I’m really kind of surprised you’re even asking me for advice because of all people you should know how much of a dick he is. Now, I love you, but I have to go take care of your goddaughter who is suffering from chicken pox. Make good choices!”

* * *

  **January 10**

_Took Gwen’s advice and ignored Brendan for the rest of Thursday and Friday but when I came into work yesterday he wasn’t even here. Both him and Duncan went to a workshop in New Haven, Connecticut for holistic midwives and won’t be back until next week. Disappointing but at least I don’t have to worry about inappropriate emails or fantasies. I might even be able to go to the gym and sign up for a membership! I’m off to a great start to this year and it’s only the 10 th. One week down, fifty-one more to go._

* * *

  **January 13**

            “Good morning, Dr. L. Beverly put the blood results from yesterday on your desk and your 9:00 appointment called to let us know she’s going to be a few minutes late,” Shauna informs Mindy when the doctor comes into the office. “And it looks like someone has a secret admirer,” she drawls in her Jersey accent. “You received flowers this morning and I took the liberty of putting them on your desk but don’t worry, I didn’t read the card.”

            “Really? Who sent them?” Mindy asks, surprised. It’s been awhile since she dated anyone seriously enough to receive flowers so unless Rishi was sending her this as an apology, which she highly doubted, she had no idea who they could be from.

            “No idea, that’s why I said secret admirer. The delivery guy wouldn’t tell me who sent them either but I did get his number so it wasn’t a total loss,” Shauna says, a huge smile on her face. “Let me know who this new guy is!”

            Mindy smiles at the receptionist, nodding her head in agreement before hurrying towards her office, ignoring Beverly who shakes her head as Mindy passes by the phlebotomy area. As soon as she enters the doorway she sees a simple white vase holding gorgeous purple and blue flowers with a card propped up by a plastic fork sticking out the side. Mindy pauses to take a picture of the arrangement to put on Instagram later, of course, and gently removes the envelope in order to read the card and find out who was the mysterious sender of the flowers.

**_M,_ **   
**_Hydrangeas mean perseverance and the bachelor buttons mean anticipation. Dinner next week?_**   
**_B_**

            “Oh, shit.”

* * *

  **January 17**

_Somehow Brendan got my phone number and text me Saturday, asking if I had gotten the flowers and card. I replied that I did and that the arrangement was beautiful and had gotten a ton of likes on Instagram but I ignored the second text asking if dinner would be alright. I refuse to be another notch on his cruelty-free vegan leather belt and so I shall remain vigilant and strong. Sadly, I did end up buying the $1,900 Jimmy Choo ‘Blair’ bag I’ve been eyeing since Christmas but I need a new bag to last me the rest of the season, right?! So it was more of an investment than actual retail therapy so I am still doing great when it comes to all my resolutions. Think I’ll have a glass of red wine to celebrate. And browse the internet to find a dress for that conference because I need to look good. I mean, make an impression._

* * *

  **January 18**

Despite doing her best to avoid Brendan, on Wednesday all of that came to an end for Mindy when she was leaving for work and they both ended up on the elevator together.

“Doctor Lahiri,” Brendan acknowledges, wrapping his navy scarf around his neck.

“Brendan.”

“You’ve been avoiding me. I thought you would have appreciated my gesture with the flowers. Was I wrong?”

“No, they were beautiful and I am very thankful for them. I’ve just been so busy now that the holidays are over, that’s all.”

“Listen, Mindy-“

“Hold the doors!”

Beverly was surprisingly spry for a woman of her age and she came running towards the elevator, barely slipping in between the doors before the fully closed. She turns to see who her companions are, frowning when she sees Delorea next to Mindy but says nothing, instead facing to look straight ahead at the doors.

The ride to the bottom floor is quiet and Mindy takes the time to check her texts when she suddenly feels a hand on her backside. Considering Brendan is next to her and Beverly is standing in front of the two of them, the identity of the ass grabber is not much of a mystery. Once they reach the lobby and the elevator doors open, Beverly walks out, but not before turning around towards the doctors and tapping her index finger against the front of her nose.

“Mhm,” she murmurs, adjusting her bag and leaving to brave the blustery January evening.

“Well then,” Brendan starts, “about dinner. What are you doing tonight?”

Digging around in her purse, Mindy replies “Actually I’m busy tonight.”

“All right then. Let’s say, Friday night? I know a great vegetarian restaurant where we can make sure your skirt gets all the nutrients it may need.”

Mindy pulls on her black leather gloves, grateful for the small distraction, before looking into Brendan’s confident gaze. “Oh, I’m sure you’d love to educate me about what I need. All night. Just over and over, making me learn about what’s good for me.”

“I would love to educate you,” he says directly.

“Oh, well then,” Mindy stammers. “Unfortunately Friday is the conference so no can do, but thank you.” She buttons her coat up and begins walking to the door.

“Next night?”

“Let’s see, shall we? Good night, Brendan,” a teasing smile playing on Mindy’s face.


	3. Chapter 3

**January 19**

             _Only worked half a day in the office today because I had to go find a dress for tomorrow’s conference and then dinner with Shauna and Gwen to discuss what I should do at the conference. Thankfully the practice is closed tomorrow so I will have all day to prepare for this important social occasion, which will mainly be me running to the salon to get waxed and buying Spanx to wear underneath the gorgeous cobalt blue dress I grabbed today. It was on sale and another necessity so once again I win at keeping my resolutions in check. Oh! I’ve got to go if I want to make it to dinner on time. Carl is forcing Gwen to take a break from watching over Riley and since we have all had the chicken pox (Gwen and I at the same time in college; I’m still not sure how that happened) we should be fine, at least I hope we will be._

* * *

            “Hey, Dr. Lahiri! Gwen and I ordered drinks, hope you don’t mind. We were able to bribe the bartender into putting some fruit in a glass of red wine so it’s kind of like sangria,” Shauna shrugs.

            “Thanks, Shauna! And please, don’t call me ‘doctor,’ when we’re not at work.” Mindy gives her receptionist a hug before going over to hug Gwen and then sitting down at the empty seat. “So! Tomorrow is the big medical conference. What should I do?”

            “Who even has a medical conference on a Friday night?” Gwen asks. “Aren’t conferences more often held during the span of a few days at a convention center?”

            Shauna nods sagely while playing with the straw in her drink. “You would think, right? It’s really more like a glorified cocktail hour while some doctor talks about how special he is, no offense, Mindy.”

            Taking a sip of her sangria, Mindy waves her hand at Shauna, brushing the comment off. “It’s fine. I mean, you’re right about it. Do you know who the speaker is? Doctor Fitzherbert. I spent all my time trying to find a speaker and I ended up getting Fitzherbert!” Mindy sees the blank looks on her companions faces and raises an eyebrow. “Fitzherbert? Tits Pervert, more like? Remember that doctor who kept staring at my chest when I was in medical school?”

            “I’ve only known you for a couple years so I wasn’t around for med school,” Shauna says apologetically.

            “Was he the old guy with glasses?”

            “Yes! Thank you, Gwen! I knew you were my best friend for a reason.” Mindy turns to Shauna, “Remember last year how Brendan invited some doctors over to the practice and one of them stayed by the receptionist desk and kept cleaning his glasses while making conversation with you?” Shauna nods. “That’s him. He really has great vision but he tries to use glasses to his advantage and stare at woman.”

            “Ugh! That’s him? I bent over to look for the wipes I use on the computer to help clean his glasses but then he told me he could see just fine when I sat back up. Why is he so important?”

            “Tits Pervert has apparently developed a new technique when it comes to early neonatal care and since we’re all doctors that deal with babies at some point, voila. He has also asked for me to introduce him when he goes to make his speech because ‘we have history’ but really I think it’s for him to stare at my tits. Please pray that I don’t end up calling him Tits Pervert instead of Dr. Henry Fitzherbert and embarrassing myself. Mmm!” Mindy starts, remembering the real reason she was together with the girls. “Let’s not get distracted because I really need to know what to do tomorrow when it comes to Brendan.”

            Gwen rolls her eyes and signals the waiter for a menu. “I cannot believe you’re still obsessing over this man, Mindy.”

            “Brendan Delorea has this,” Shauna pauses, thinking carefully on the perfect word to describe the midwife, “aura about him. He exudes a certain masculinity that you’re just drawn to. His confidence is out of this world and if it wasn’t for him I would still be suffering from neck pains from sitting at a desk all day.”

            “Okay, okay. I get it. He’s some vegan god. Mindy, first you have to look gorgeous, which should be easy given your doctor’s salary and love of all things fashion. Secondly, ignore him and suck up to all the other fancy schmancy doctors that will be there.”

            Shauna lights up, smiling widely. “Listen to her! No guy likes for the attention to be on someone other than himself. When I dated this one guy, Derek, he would get jealous when I would answer texts from my friend Kris until he learned it stood for Kristen. Even afterwards he would still get bothered and would shower me with gifts and flowers so I would remember how important he was. We only lasted like a month but what Gwen says is the truth for sure.”

            Watching Mindy nod and take all this information in, Gwen continues on. “Circulate, oozing intelligence. When you make introductions make sure you use thoughtful details as well. Just be yourself, you’ll be fine.”

            “Oh! And do you plan on sleeping with him tomorrow night?”

            “Shauna!” Mindy exclaims rather loudly, drawing the attention of nearby diners. “Not that it’s any of your business but no, I don’t necessarily plan on it,” lowering her voice to a loud whisper.

            “Relax! I just know that whenever I wear really beautiful underwear, especially ones that come as a set and go together perfectly, it never seems to fail that things don’t happen and then on the occasions when I wear something that doesn’t match or it’s when I forget to do laundry and grab whatever I have left, the guy gets really interested. I’m just saying if you’re looking to get lucky, you know what to do.” Shauna leans back in her chair and winks at Mindy.

            “You know, you’re kind of an evil genius,” Mindy says, nodding appreciatively. “Thanks, guys. Shall we order?”

* * *

  **January 20**

            Pausing at the entrance to the conference, Mindy takes a deep breath and pushes a stray piece of hair back behind her ear before walking in. There are OB/GYNS from the Tri-State area here tonight, filling up on free drinks and food and pretending to be interested in others and their conversations. Mindy spots Brendan and Duncan speaking with a doctor she recognizes that also specializes in holistic birthing so she makes her way towards a group of doctors by the bar and listening to their conversation. She’s so distracted and hell-bent on ignoring the pointed glances Brendan is attempting to give her that she doesn’t even hear the question asked and only notices when the group falls silent, expectant of her answer.

            “Oh, uh, does anyone know where the restrooms are?”

            Walking towards the area the other doctors pointed to, Mindy tries to ease her nerves and calm down. “Things can’t get any worse, don’t worry. Just breathe and you’ll be fine-oh Jesus.” She stops in her tracks when the man blocking her path turns around and she discovers it’s none other than Daniel Castellano. “What are you doing here?”

             “I’ve been asking myself the same question. I came with a colleague.” Daniel explains, loosening his tie a bit with one hand and holding a pint of beer in the other.

            “Wait, what kind of doctor are you? This is an obstetrician and gynecologist conference.”

            “And I’m an obstetrician and gynecologist,” he answers. “So, how are you?”

            A bit surprised at this much friendlier version of the man she first met less than a month ago, Mindy cocks her head to the side and stares at him before answering. “Uh, I’m fine, thank you. You’re doing well yourself, I presu-“

            “Anyone going to introduce me?” Beverly interrupts.

            Wondering what in the hell Beverly is doing at the conference and how she was able to sneak up so quietly, Mindy takes a deep breath and smiles before introducing the two to each other. “Daniel, this is Beverly. Beverly, this is Daniel. Beverly is a medical assistant at my practice and the best of her kind. Daniel is a doctor who I met through a close friend of my family.”

            As Beverly and Daniel are shaking hands, a beautiful tall woman saunters up next to the male doctor and Mindy takes a moment to admire the woman’s highlighted light brown hair that falls in waves around her face, framing the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes.  _Of course that’s the kind of woman he goes for. Why does that even surprise me? Why am I even bothered by it?_

            “Jillian,” Daniel starts, “this is Mindy. Jillian is a pharmaceutical rep and Mindy is a family friend who is an OB/GYN and manages to find the time to have conversations with Beyonce in the bathroom,” a small half smile playing on his lips as he raises his beer to take a drink from.

            “How odd,” Jillian replies in a cool tone.

            “Doctor,” Beverly says to Mindy. “Brendan wanted me to tell you that Fitzherbert was unable to make it so you’ll be announcing the replacement, a Dr. Jeremy Reed.”

            Mindy groans. “Are you serious? I’m supposed to go up there and make an announcement about how the original announcement I was going to make doesn’t matter anymore and introduce some doctor I don’t even know? What did this Jeremy Reed do?”

            “It’ll be the Reed Method. Just go with that,” Danny suddenly answers, much to Mindy’s surprise. Before she can take a breath, let alone thank him for helping her out, Mindy is being dragged by Beverly towards the stage for the announcement.

            “You’ll be fine, Lahiri. Just mention that Dr. Fitzherbert is sorry he is unable to make it so the speaker has been changed to Jeremy Reed of The Reed Method and he’ll take it from there. Want me to take your jacket?” Beverly asks, pointing to the leather jacket Mindy was wearing over her dress.

            “No, I’ll be fine, thank you. Do I just go-oh guess I do,” Mindy stammers as Beverly gives her one final push towards the microphone set up on the small stage.

            Mindy clears her throat, reminding herself to say Fitzherbert and not Tits Pervert several times before speaking into the microphone. “Hello,” and as feedback screeches through the room she recoils from the mild embarrassment. “Uh, good evening to everyone, I’m Dr. Mindy Lahiri. I’m here to announce tonight’s speaker but unfortunately he is unable to make it,”  _Tits Pervert, Tits Pervert, Tits Pervert,_  “Dr. Henry Ti-Fitzherbert, I mean. He is unable to make it. Instead we will have Dr. Jeremy Reed speaking to us tonight so let us all give a nice welcome to Dr. Reed of the Reed Method!” Mindy finishes as a charming man in a dark gray suit comes up on stage.

            “Thank you very much, Dr. Lahiri,” Dr. Reed announces in a smooth British accent, throwing Mindy a wink before turning towards the crowd of doctors. “The Reed Method. The first laparoscopic hysterectomy technique to reduce operating time, recovery time, and dangerous complications. A technology of tomorrow, here today.”

* * *

            “Shirley Temple with vodka, please. Extra cherries,” Mindy asks the bartender. Even though her brief announcement wasn’t incredibly embarrassing, it was more than enough for Mindy; not only did she embarrass herself in front of Brendan but she also did it in front of Daniel Castellano for the second time in less than a month. Plus that Jeremy Reed was pretty cute so it was a three guy strike for her and that definitely warranted a drink. She can see Daniel and Jillian in deep conversation with another couple on the other side of the bar and as she attempts to fish a maraschino cherry out of her glass with a swizzle stick, she hardly notices Brendan Delorea until he’s right in front of her.

            “Don’t worry about them, Mindy. You did fine. Hey,” Brendan reaches out and brushes her cheek before showing her the finger holding her eyelash. “Make a wish.”

            Quickly blowing the eyelash away, Mindy gawks at Brendan. “Okay, that was kind of hot.”

            “You’re looking quite sexy, Mindy. I think I’m going to have to take you out for dinner now. Come on, let’s get your stuff.”

            Despite trying to avoid Brendan, Mindy does not want to spend any more time in this conference so she quickly finishes her drink and walks with him towards the door, not noticing that Daniel had excused himself from his conversation and was making his way towards her.

* * *

             “How do you know Daniel?” Brendan asks casually on the walk back from the restaurant.

             “Castellano? He’s my little brother’s roommate’s brother. Why? Do you know him?”  _God, I am really going to have to get some McDonald’s after this. I am starving after eating nothing but gluten-free bread at that vegetarian place._

            Brendan nods. “We did our residency together. We used to be friends.”

            “Used to? What happened?”

            “Uh, I made the catastrophic mistake of introducing him to my fiancé. I can’t say that I’ve honestly ever forgiven him.”

            Albeit strange that Rishi and Richie would set her up with a philandering divorcee, Mindy figures that they weren’t aware of Daniel’s indiscretion. “What a bastard.”

            “Anyway, let’s not let him ruin our evening, Mindy. How about some kombucha at my place? Totally innocent, no funny business. Just full on sex.”

            “No, no, no,” Mindy laughs. “I really should get a taxi, but thank you for the lovely dinner, Brendan.”

            Stepping closer to Mindy to fill in the space between them, Brendan places one hand on her waist and the other on the side of her face before tilting his head and kissing her. Mindy reciprocates and before she knows it, they’re both in a cab heading to Brendan’s apartment and his hand is inching its way up her thigh.

            “What’s this?” Brendan asks, pulling the hem of her dress up a bit.

            “Shit,” Mindy realizes what’s going on and she attempts to disentangle herself from Brendan while trying to brush his hand away.

            Running his hand up her thigh and along the curve of her hips and waist he stops at her rib cage, understanding Mindy’s concern. “Oh, I see. No, don’t worry! Look, I’m wearing something similar,” he jokes and begins to unbuckle his belt.

            “Hey! Not in my cab!” barks the cab driver, turning around to give Brendan a dirty look.

            Brendan chuckles and leaves his belt alone in favor of reaching for Mindy again. “We’re almost at my place anyway. There you won’t need this,” grabbing the hem of Mindy’s dress, “or this,” reaching underneath the dress and brushing the edge of her underwear with his fingers before moving his hand between her thighs.

            Mindy grabs the back of Brendan’s neck and kisses him passionately, all warnings she may have tried to heed the farthest thing from her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**January 21**

_Who needs to pay for a gym membership when you can just have lots of sex for free?_

* * *

  **January 22**

_Lots and lots of sex._

* * *

  **January 25**

_Don’t know if anyone in the office knows what’s going on between me and Brendan. Besides Shauna, I mean. And maybe Beverly but I can’t tell if she’s giving me dirty looks because she knows or if they’re just her regular looks. I asked Brendan if people in the office would notice but we didn’t get to finish our conversation because Rishi called to tell me about a St. Patrick’s Day block party him and Richie are setting up. My brother the scientist and he still somehow manages to throw all these parties AND make good grades. Wish I knew his secret when I was his age eleven years ago._

* * *

**February 14**

_Who had the bright idea to make Valentine’s Day on a Tuesday this year? Brendan said he had another conference to go to in Connecticut so he’s gone all week and I miss him tons. I shouldn’t feel too bad because he did send me a gorgeous spray of magenta and purple orchids that, according to the card Brendan included, mean seduction and beauty. I can’t wait to see him this weekend!_

* * *

**March 15**

“Hey, babe,” Mindy says, peeking her head into Brendan’s office before she leaves for the evening, “don’t forget we have Rishi’s party the day after tomorrow. I figured we could take a half day from work Friday and have some lunch together before taking the train to Boston and that way we’ll have some time to settle into our hotel before heading out. What do you think?”

            A strange look briefly clouds Brendan’s face before he sighs and forces a smile at Mindy. “Yeah, that should work. I already reserved the room and it’s just a ten minute walk to your brother’s place. I might have to take a later train than you though,” he motions the paperwork on his desk, “depending how busy work is.”

            “Really? You can’t take it with you or anything?” Mindy has noticed Brendan being busier and busier with work since he came back from Connecticut last month and while they still made time to see each other on most days, Rishi’s upcoming party was pretty important because he would be meeting her family for the first time. Sure, it’s only Rishi and he’s her only brother, but he’s also her favorite brother and having him meet the guy she’s been with for nearly two months is a big deal. “I mean, you could work on it on the train or at the hotel. We have all weekend since this is like, a little mini getaway for us.”

            “You don’t get how difficult it is to be natural do you? You just prescribe medications and narcotics to patients without a care to what it does to their mind and bodies. I have to work hard to make sure they get back to health and not temporarily!” Brendan snaps.

            “Excuse you? I don’t just prescribe medication for the hell of it, Delorea. I’ve worked damn hard to be an amazing doctor so don’t you dare try to belittle me with your holistic bullshit. I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.” Mindy turns on her heel and begins to walk away until she feels a grip on her forearm preventing her from leaving. “If you don’t let me go in the next three seconds or if you leave a mark, so help me God, Brendan.”

            “Mindy, I’m sorry. I’ve been incredibly stressed lately and you didn’t deserve that,” Brendan starts, releasing her arm. “You’re a great doctor and I really am sorry. Look, how about we both go and have some dinner, then I’ll help you finish your outfit for Friday because I know you’re nowhere near being done. Afterwards we can go back to my place for a nice relaxing lavender bath before calling it a night? Let me make it up to you.”

            Even though she was still upset with him for being so rude and callous when she had done nothing wrong, Mindy couldn’t deny shopping and makeup sex, because oh yes, she was going to get her makeup sex tonight.

* * *

**March 16**

_Ugh, I can’t believe Brendan bailed on me. I left work at 2:30 and when I was in the cab heading towards the train station he calls to tell me he can’t make it but that he’ll see me Monday and to take advantage of the room he reserved for us. I haven’t even told Rishi that he won’t be meeting Brendan because it wouldn’t surprise me that he thinks I made Brendan up. Whatever. I’m going to go and have fun with my kid brother and then in the morning I’ll leave Boston to go and surprise Brendan with a vegetarian breakfast. Good plan._

* * *

             After checking in and taking a shower at the hotel, Mindy changes into a miniskirt with sequins that shimmer like mini peridots and tucks in a sheer neon green button down into her skirt before stepping into a pair of bright green Jimmy Choo high heels that Brendan had bought for her as an apology after their brief argument Wednesday. She checks herself out in the mirror and wonders if she’s too old to be going out until she realizes this is St. Patrick’s Day in Boston where everyone is going to claim to be even the slightest bit Irish in order to excuse how completely wasted they’re going to be from the Guinness, Jameson Irish Whiskey, and Irish Car Bombs they’ll undoubtedly be drinking and could care less about a thirty-three year old woman. She grabs a small clutch, making sure she has cash and her room key in it, and once she takes the elevator to the lobby, where a raucous crowd is already well into getting their night started, Mindy heads out into the crisp night towards her Rishi’s.

            The walk is short and somehow the shoes are comfortable enough to not bother her, or maybe it’s all the years of practice she has under her belt, but Mindy stops in her tracks once she gets to the general vicinity of the complex where Rishi’s townhouse is. Her brother and his roommate have really outdone themselves with the planning this year and had somehow convinced the entire complex to take part by creating a block party atmosphere where most people were drinking and hanging out in the parking areas and could go into the town houses to party with the owner’s or whoever was inside. Mindy enters Rishi’s place and finds him making Irish Car Bombs in the kitchen.

            “Hey, lil bro! Aren’t you worried about all these randos and them stealing your stuff?”

            Rishi looks up and laughs, coming around the kitchen island to give Mindy a huge hug. “Nah! That’s why it’s a party! Want a shot?” indicating the pints and shot glasses he’s in the process of setting up. “Hey, where’s your man? Wasn’t he supposed to show up so I could do the brotherly thing?”

            “Ugh,” Mindy wrinkles her nose, “he had work that was more important apparently. I swear he’s real and I have a picture of him sleeping in my bed if you want proof. And yes, give me a shot.”

            The two siblings drop a shot glass filled with whiskey and Irish cream into a pint of Guinness stout and immediately start chugging the contents. Mindy is the first to slam her glass down and she wipes her mouth with a smile. “Not bad for an old lady, huh? I totally still have it.”

            Rishi laughs at his sister again before snapping his fingers. “I just remembered I got you something special for tonight! Hold on, let me go grab it,” and runs up the stairs to his room. While she waits for his return, Mindy grabs a bottle of Guinness and checks her phone to see if she’s missed any calls or texts from Brendan, which she does not.

            “Okay, so you’ve got to close your eyes for your surprise. Now you can open.”

            Mindy looks down and sees Rishi has placed numerous beaded necklaces around her neck, including a necklace that has a plastic shot glass pendant. “You know we’re not Irish, right? I don’t think a ‘Kiss me, I’m Irish’ shot glass is completely accurate.”

            “We’re from Boston! Of course we’re Irish! Oh, and this is yours too,” Rishi says, thrusting a huge light up bow headband at Mindy. “The middle of the bow holds a shot glass so that way you’re always at the ready for tonight.”

            Shaking her head she puts the headband on and strikes a quick pose. “How do I look?”

            “Like you’re getting drunk toniiiiight!”

            The next couple hours pass by quickly and Mindy finds herself having fun despite Brendan not being able to join her. Richie passes through and introduces her to his boyfriend Ramon, who lives in a townhouse a few doors down and explains he’s helping him host which is why Rishi is on his own. Mindy waves him off and says she doesn’t mind helping out since it distracts her and Richie gives her a brief hug before taking off with Ramon. She chats with a few sorority girls who are planning to go into med school the following year and gives them a few ideas on what to expect and feels a sense of pride on being able to lessen their worries. Her elation only lasts a brief moment when she catches Daniel walking through the crowd, making his way to the kitchen.

            “Hey,” he says, stopping in front of the island. “I didn’t think you’d be here.”

            “I didn’t think this was your scene either, especially after New Year’s.”

            A faint blush creeps onto Daniel’s cheeks and he pushes up the sleeves of his white Oxford. Mindy notices there are faint green lines running up and down the shirt or she would’ve pinched him like he deserves. She takes her phone out of her clutch to check her messages and avoid talking to Daniel as much as possible but frowns when she sees there are no missed calls or texts from Brendan.

             “Nothing from DD?” Rishi asks, noticing his sister’s face when he comes back in the kitchen with a case of Guinness. “Hey, Dan,” nodding his head in greeting, “need a refill?”

            “Yeah, whiskey,” Daniel replies, handing his glass to Rishi.

            “DD?” questions Mindy.

            “Doctor Delorea. Brendan Delorea is a mouthful so I’m going to say DD.”

            Daniel whips his head around to look at Mindy. “Brendan Delorea? The holistic crackpot?”

            “Yeah, man. You know him? I hope he’s good enough for my big sis,” Rishi says, handing Daniel his lowball glass back with amber liquid.

            “I can say with total confidence that absolutely not. You deserve better, Mindy. He’s a complete jackass.”

            “Well, I’d think he would say the same about you,” Mindy shoots back, annoyed at the nerve of the other doctor.

            “Sorry?” Daniel asks, confused.

            “I think you know what I mean.”

            Rishi looks back and forth at the two doctors and when he sees a brunette in a black dress and a green blazer enter the kitchen he jumps at the opportunity to diffuse the situation. “Hey, ma. What can I get you to drink?”

            “Water,” she says. Her eyes flicker over Mindy’s outfit and a smirk appears on her face. “Hello, Mindy. Nice bow.”

            “Ugh, hello, Jillian.” Mindy decides she’s had enough partying for the night and that the sooner she gets back to the hotel and goes to bed, the sooner she’ll wake up and surprise Brendan. “Rishi, have fun. I’m out of here.” She hugs her brother before throwing her hair back and walking proudly out of the kitchen.

            Or as proudly as a woman in her 30’s wearing a flashing bow and a shot glass necklace can, which for Mindy, is pretty damn well.

* * *

            Early the next morning when Mindy gets back into the city she stops by a vegan diner and grabs an order of maple pumpkin buckwheat waffles and cinnamon syrup before stopping by another diner and ordering a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich and stuffing her face with it on the taxi cab ride to Brendan’s. Once there she rings the buzzer and after a brief moment she’s let in and sees Brendan waiting outside his door for her.

            “Hey, babe! I missed you and wanted to surprise you with some breakfast,” Mindy cheerfully states, leaning in to give him a quick kiss.

            “Thanks, I’m just, uh, working on paperwork. What do you say I work on stuff for a bit more and you go home to change and I’ll pick you up for lunch in a few hours?”

            Disappointed that they can’t spend time together now, Mindy nods in acceptance at lunch. “That’s no problem. I understand-“ a door suddenly slams in Brendan’s apartment and Mindy squints her eyes at Brendan. “Is there someone here?” She pushes the door open and strolls right into the apartment looking around before heading into the bedroom and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Embarrassed at her insecurity in thinking her boyfriend is unfaithful, Mindy closes her eyes and apologizes. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just hearing things.”

            “It’s all right. The walls in this building are thin so it’s probably just the neighbors,” Brendan explains, pulling her into a hug and walking her towards the door. “I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

            “Mhm. I’ll go home and-“ Mindy stops in the middle of her sentence when she notices the trench coat hanging on the coat rack, and considering Brendan only wears pea coats, she knows something is up. She runs back into the bedroom, ignoring Brendan calling her name and begging her to stop. The en suite bathroom was the only place Mindy hadn’t checked in her original search so she turns the door knob, throwing the door open and freezing when she sees the caramel blonde in a silk robe fixing her hair at the sink.

            “Mindy, this is Maria,” Brendan says quietly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I wanted to remind you all how grateful and appreciative I am for every single view, favorite, review, kudos, absolutely any little thing you do to show feedback for this story. You have no idea how much it means to me! Hope everyone has a great Friday night! xo

**March 18**

_I can’t believe how stupid I was. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I had four things to follow this year and I broke the most important one about not falling for Brendan. Great sex and flowers do not give you a fairy tale ending when your prince has acted like a frog most of the time._

* * *

 “Ugh, hello?”

            “Sorry for calling, Rishi. Were you asleep?”

            “No, no, no, no. I’ve been wide awake this whole time,” Rishi lies through a thick voice still afflicted with sleep. “What’s up? You okay?”

            Mindy feels the tears falling again, partly from the hurt and partly from the embarrassment of being fooled, and her voice cracks as she begins to talk to Rishi. “Uh, not really. I came back to the city early to surprise Brendan and I found out he’d been cheating on me. I don’t even know how long that’s been going on or if I’m the other woman but I just really wanted to talk to someone and Gwen is visiting Carl’s family and-“ she breaks off, crying and unable to continue.

            “Wait, what? DD is a dickhole doucher? Oh, Mindy. Man, I am so sorry. Do you want me to come up there or maybe you can come back to Boston for the weekend?”

            “No, it’s fine,” Mindy sniffs. “I just can’t believe I let this happen. How could I have been so blind to all of this, Rishi? I thought I’d made progress, but I was wrong. No one will ever love me. I’m such a loser. I’m back to zero.”

            “Yo!” Rishi interrupts, “You need to stop right there. I can’t believe you’re in this state over a stupid man. We are all completely self-centered, sexually incontinent and no use to man nor beast, and yes, that does include me.”

            “I really liked him.”

            “Was it because he worked in the same building as you or was it because of his personality? You’ve just been filling dead space. You can do better than all these guys you’ve dated and I wish you would realize that. Listen, turn your phone off and go to sleep. When you go back to work remember how much better than him you are and act like it.”

            “Rishi, why do you sound so much older than me right now?”

            “Because college has made me an old man, sis. Or wise. I’m still not sure which. You’re going to be okay. But hey, listen, I have a legit serious question for you.”

            “Yeah?”

            “Was I wearing my glasses when you left last night?”

            It was the only time Mindy laughed that entire weekend.

* * *

  **March 21**

_I skipped work yesterday because I wasn’t ready to face Brendan. Gwen and Riley came over to keep me company and not once did Gwen tell me “I told you so,” even though I’m sure she wanted to several thousand times. Shauna was just as understanding and text me when she was done with work yesterday saying she accidentally rescheduled a few of his appointments and that even Beverly had seemingly “misplaced” some blood results he was waiting on. I need to bring them breakfast or lunch or something. Their small little rebellious acts mean more than they probably know._

             _But enough hiding. I’m going to march into work today and hold my head up high. I am Dr. Mindy Lahiri, damn it._

* * *

 “Hey, Dr. L, how you doin’ today?” Shauna asks, placing a mug of coffee on Mindy’s desk. “You look nice.”

            Mindy manages a small smile at the receptionist and points at her simple gray dress and purple belt, “This thing? Psh. I look freaking fantastic, but thanks. Is he, uh, is he here today?” nodding in the direction outside her office.

            “Yes, and he’s already asked me to see about setting up a lunch with you but I told him you were busy. You want me to keep him away from you?”

            “Just until this blows over, if that’s not a big deal, I mean. Thankfully we don’t even work together, not really anyway, so it should be easy to avoid him as long as we don’t run into each other in the office or at the elevators.”

            And it was easy to avoid the oldest Delorea, for the most part at least. If Mindy wasn’t with a patient then she was in her office working. She even managed to take the stairs a couple times to make sure she wouldn’t have to deal with him. Brendan attempted more lunches and meetings but Shauna stuck true to her word and shot down every offer; she even went as far as to block any emails from going to Mindy and instead had them forwarded to herself where she would relay any important work information Brendan may have included, which he of course never did.

* * *

  **March 23**

However, all good things come to an end and Mindy could not plan everything to go according to plan and so Brendan surprised her on Thursday on her way back from lunch when she was distracted by her frozen yogurt on the elevator.

            “Mindy, we need to talk. You haven’t answered my calls or messages.”

            Tempted to throw the frozen yogurt at his head, Mindy somehow manages to control herself, arching an eyebrow in disbelief. “Did you think I would be willing to talk after what happened? Wait, don’t tell me, she was actually your cousin, right?”

            Brendan sighs. “We were never exclusive, Mindy. I thought you understood that.”

            “We were having sex and spending time together for almost two months and you’re now telling me that what we were doing wasn’t considered exclusive enough to be considered a relationship?”

            “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying-“

            “Shut up, you don’t get to talk right now. You do not get a ‘get out of jail free’ card for happened because not once did you tell me we weren’t together. Does she know how you feel about being in relationships? You can talk now!”

            “Maria and I are actually together.”

            “Excuse me?”

            “Maria is very special and she supports me in my natural endeavors, unlike some other people. She understands why I do what I do and that it’s very important to me to not stoop down to pharmaceuticals and modern medicine’s levels for the sake of making things easy on me. I care about patients and their well being and not only am I committed to that but I am very committed to Maria also. I really see a future with her.”

            Mindy can’t even do anything but stare at Brendan, wishing she was like the hot guy who could shoot lasers from his eyes in “X-Men.” The elevator stops and Brendan steps outside, placing his hand at the doors to prevent them from closing and waits for Mindy to come out, but she doesn’t. After a few minutes of feeling her attempt a wish fulfillment of “if looks could kill,” Brendan gets a clue and walks away from the elevators. Once the doors close, Mindy punches the lobby button a bit harder than necessary and calls Shauna to cancel her appointments for the rest of the day.

* * *

  **March 24**

_At times like this, continuing with one’s life seems impossible but I have two choices: to give up and accept a permanent state of spinsterhood or not._

_And this time I choose not. I will not be defeated by a delusional quack. Instead I choose red wine, and Beyonce. I’m going to work on finding a new practice to work at, one where the other doctors actually respect and value me. I’m going to miss Shauna but it’s not like we won’t talk or see each other ever again. I probably won’t miss Beverly that much but surprisingly she has been very helpful this past week and only directs her rudeness towards Brendan so who knows._

_But I’m flawless, I woke up like this. I look so good toniiiiiight. God damn, God damn, God damn!_

* * *

  **April 3**

_I’ve been to three practices in the last week and didn’t feel like I meshed with any of them; I’m kind of starting to lose hope in finding a new workplace. Shauna told me that her friend, Betsy, is a receptionist at Shulman & Associates and to try there because Dr. Shulman just left and they’re trying to find a new OB/GYN as soon as possible. The only good part about going on my lunch to these practices is that I don’t eat so I’m losing weight, which I promptly gain back after work with a delicious pretzel from the vendor down the block from my apartment. Whatever, the whole walking around bit is healthy at least, right? That’s got to count for cardio or something! And I’m doing it in heels! Hmm, I wonder if MyFitnessPal will let me log it as exercise._

* * *

 Mindy goes up to the receptionist at the front desk, a tiny young thing with long wavy chestnut colored hair and wearing a red sweater over a navy button down dress, the white Peter Pan collar peeking out at the top. Mindy glances around the practice, noticing they have two nurses and what looks like four offices judging by the name plates by the doors.

            “Hey, I’m Dr. Mindy Lahiri. I’m looking for a Betsy Putch? Shauna sent me.”

            The brunette lights up and smiles widely. “I’m Betsy! I’ve heard such good things about you, Dr. Lahiri! You’ll be meeting with two of our partners today, Peter Prentice and Jeremy Reed; our third doctor is unable to make it but you might see him afterwards. Let me go show you to our conference room and go grab the doctors.”

            After Mindy takes a seat at the conference room she remembers that Jeremy Reed was the doctor she introduced back in January and groans. Wondering if she should save face and leave before the doctors get here or if she should try to tough it out and make it through the meeting, her decision is made when Dr. Reed and a young bearded doctor enter the room.

            “Ah, Dr. Lahiri,” Jeremy starts, taking her hand and giving it a quick kiss. “We meet again. May I say you look just as stunning as the first time we met?”

            “Jeremy, stop scaring away the potential partners. I’d like to change the sign from Schulman & Associates to our actual names one day soon,” the bearded man complains. “I’m Dr. Peter Prentice, I’m the fun doctor and Dr. Reed is the suave doctor. Unfortunately Dr. Castellano isn’t here but that is your uptight doctor. Now! Let’s see how we can help each other out, right, Dr. Lahiri?”

            Wondering why the last name Castellano sounded so familiar, Mindy pushes her thoughts to the side and begins describing her schooling and residencies along with her strengths and what she can bring to the practice. She’s quick to learn that Peter is quite laid back and Jeremy is simply a flirt, though Peter lets on that Jeremy is interested in the receptionist, much to Jeremy’s chagrin.

            “This is unprofessional, Peter. Poor Dr. Lahiri does not want to know nor hear about these sorts of things.”

            “Nonsense!” Peter chuckles. “If she joins us she’s going to learn all about it sooner or later. Here, what about you tell us one unprofessional thing about yourself?” he asks Mindy.

            “I slept with the holistic doctor at my practice and need to get far the hell away from that place,” Mindy blurts, clamping a hand over her mouth while wishing for a spontaneous sink hole to open up and swallow her underneath the ground, away from her lack of filter.

            Both male doctors stare at her before erupting into deep laughter. Once they’re able to subdue themselves Peter stands up and offers his hand to Mindy. “When are you able to start, Dr. Lahiri?”

            “Really?”

            “You have amazing credentials and I think you’ll fit in quite nicely. Don’t you agree, Jers?”

            Jeremy rolls his eyes. “I’ve asked you repeatedly to stop calling me that, but yes, I do agree that Mindy here will be a fantastic asset to this practice. Your former employer will be losing an amazing doctor and I hope they realize that their loss is our gain,” he finishes, winking at Mindy.

             Grateful for their understanding, Mindy tells them she will finish this week at work and then the following Monday she will begin at Shulman’s. Jeremy runs off to speak with Betsy about ordering a new sign to reflect the names of the current doctors, Mindy included, while Peter shows her to where her new office will be.

            “Stop by Betsy’s area before you leave and she’ll get you a key your office. You’re more than welcome to stop by whenever to start decorating and getting ready. More often than not Dr. Castellano stays late so you’ll have someone to show you the ropes if necessary,” Peter chats away excitedly before pausing to look into the office next to Mindy’s. “Speak of the devil, looks like he came in while we were finishing our meeting. Mindy, this is Doctor Danny Castellano. Dan, this is our new partner, Mindy Lahiri.”

            Realizing that the reason she found the name Castellano familiar was because she had heard Rishi call Richie “Castellamo” jokingly, Mindy worries that this new practice is a horrible idea but she’s pulled out of her concerns when Danny walks around his desk and extends his hand toward Mindy’s. She shakes his hand and forces a smile at him.

            “Aw, man. I gotta bounce, brochachos. One of my patients just went into labor,” Peter silences the beeper alerting him and looks at Danny. “You good to go? I was just showing her around real quick, make a few introductions, that sort of thing.”

            “Yeah,” Danny nods, “That’s no problem. I can finish for you.”

            Peter leaves and Mindy is looking everywhere but at Danny, until he clears his throat, offering for Mindy to leave the office first so he can continue her tour. He shows her the small break room off to the side of the offices and the hallway where the exam rooms are. Mindy is introduced to Morgan and Tamra, the nurses, and is immediately wrapped in a giant bear hug by Morgan until Danny tells him to let her go. After she gets the key from Betsy, Mindy and Danny walk towards the elevators so she can head back to her last week of work at the other practice.

            “Well, thank you,” Mindy begins awkwardly. “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other now.”

            “Yeah, I guess so. By the way, you don’t have to call me Dan or Daniel. Everyone just calls me Danny, well, except for Richie and our mother.” Seeing as Mindy just nods and the wait on the elevator is taking awhile, Danny asks what brought her here.

            “Things didn’t work out with Brendan; he treated me badly and I’m embarrassed to be telling you, of all people, this.”

            “He treated you badly?”

            “Yeah. Happy?”

            Danny shakes his head in disbelief. “He’s an idiot for treating you badly. I mean, he’s an idiot anyway. But-“

            The elevator finally arrives and Mindy steps in, waving at Danny. “Well, bye. I’ll see you on Monday then.”

            “Monday,” he agrees. “Hey, Mindy? As delighted as I might actually be, I’m sorry things didn’t work out between you and Brendan. We’re really lucky to have such an incredible doctor like you here. It’s his mistake,” turning around to walk back to the office as the elevator doors close.

* * *

  **April 7**

_Very nervous. Today is the day I tell Brendan I’m leaving and while I have absolutely no worries about having made the wrong decision, because I know I haven’t, I do not want this to turn into some dramatic event when he finds out that I’m not coming back. I’ve somehow managed to move all my office supplies from here to Shulman & Associates without him noticing, which isn’t that big of a surprise when I remember that the lovely Maria has been making appointments for hot stone therapy and whatever else load of shit Brendan specializes in, essentially keeping him busy and out of my way._

* * *

             The clock above the doorway changes over to 5:00 and Mindy sighs, knowing that this will be the last few moments she has in this practice. She realizes she made mistakes but overall her experience had been a pleasant one and she’s going to miss the practice. After grabbing her purse she exits her office, closing the door behind her with a satisfying  _click_  one final time. The day had been busy so both Shauna and Beverly, along with Brendan, are still working and taking care of some last minute tasks, and Mindy walks over to the receptionist’s desk.

            “I’m completely good to go then? You told all my patients about the move?” Mindy murmurs quietly.

            “Mhm, I called everyone to let them know you’ll be at Shulman’s and I also sent a follow up postcard reminding them their appointments will be there instead of here. You don’t have to worry about a thing, Dr. L. Wait, does that mean I get to call you Mindy all the time now?” Shauna asks.

            Smiling, Mindy nods her head. “Yeah, and you can call or text me whenever, too. You going to be okay without my fabulous presence here in the office to keep you company?”

            “Of course! You know, Beverly might be a little on the old and cranky side, but she is absolutely hilarious. She’s not so bad,” Shauna shrugs. “She’s no you, but you don’t have to worry about me at all.”

            Mindy winks at Shauna before walking to Brendan’s office, knocking on the door. Both the brothers Delorea are talking but once Brendan sees Mindy, he tries to get his brother to leave so they can talk privately.

            “No, no. Duncan can stay, it’s all right. I just wanted to tell you thank you for having me here all these years but that it’s time for me to move onto better things and I won’t be coming back to work after today. Have a good weekend, Brendan. You too, Duncan.” Mindy turns and begins to walk down the hall when she hears Brendan scrambling out of his office, yelling her name.

            “Dr. Lahiri, I mean, Mindy. You can’t just leave from one day to the next; you have to give at least two weeks notice for your resignation and you’re not even giving me two days!”

            “Oh, yes, but see, I figured you wouldn’t miss me when all I do is walk around in short skirts and prescribe, what was it you said? Narcotics for a temporary fix? Since what you do is so much more important, I thought this would be alright.”

            “Mindy.”

            Beverly, who has been by the receptionist area with Shauna and Duncan while the conversation has been occurring, steps up in between Mindy and Brendan. “Listen here, Delorea. It was you who chose to chuck Dr. Lahiri to the side, you selfish, manipulative vegan. What is a vegan anyway? Whatever it is, it doesn’t sound fun, which may very well explain why you’re such a prick but if Dr. Lahiri gives one inch to you I’m going to plant drugs in her office and have her fired myself.”

            His complexion paling after Beverly’s threat, Brendan attempts to plead with Mindy. “There are lots of prospects here at the practice for a person who, you know, perhaps for personal reasons, has been slightly overlooked professional and not given the respect they deserve. That can all change, though, Mindy.”

            “Thank you, Brendan. That is very good to know, but if staying here means working within 10 feet of you, frankly I’d rather have a job wiping Justin Bieber’s ass.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, lovlies! I'm super sorry that the chapter has taken over a month to get up but between a pretty rough review and a combination of writer's block/struggling to get the chapter typed out, it is what it is. Good news though! I finally found a beta (who isn't familiar with either TMP or BJD but she still puts up with me AND will she start watching TMP once it comes back on. She is absolutely fantastic and I am so grateful for her) and the seventh chapter is around 3/4 of the way done so hopefully it'll be posted by the end of the week, depending how long the editing process takes. xoxo

**May 1**

_I love the practice so much. I love my coworkers, I love the building, I love the weird taxidermists down the hall and the divorce lawyer with the online shopping addiction. I've always loved my patients, for the most part, and many of them have told me they prefer coming here more than to the old place and they have no issues with me changing offices._

_Brendan tried calling a few times, but after the first week he seemed to finally get the idea and I haven't heard from him since. Good riddance. Shauna told me he's in the process of taking photos to announce his engagement._

_Gwen laughs when I call her to talk about the practice and asks how "the handsome jerk" and I are doing. You know what diary? We're not doing too bad, considering. Danny did steal a patient of mine. He claims it was an accident and it only happened because he was on call while I was stuck in traffic. Danny later on apologized and left a bear claw on my desk, which was nice, and unexpected. We seem to be getting along and maybe I was too quick to judge him based off of a first impression. I don't know. I mean, he does have horrible taste in music, listens to Bob Dylan in between patients, and complains when I play Rihanna. Other than that he really isn't that bad of a person._

_Jeremy is a huge flirt, but you can clearly tell he's in love with Betsy, it's so cute. I think Betsy is too shy. I did encourage her to invite Jeremy to bible study on weekend and I think she might do it! I've given them the name Jetsy, which is probably one of the more perfect names I have come up with for couples. Speaking of couples, Morgan is clearly into Tamra. (Mamra? Mora? Torgan? Toran? I must put more thought into their name!) She has a boyfriend, but I totally sense a little chemistry between them. Just the other day I caught Morgan attempting to beat box while Tamra sang a remix of Demi Lovato's "Neon Lights," which was surprisingly good on Tamra's end while Morgan sounded more like a bunch of farts, but hey, they were laughing and having a really good time together. Peter is… well he's Peter. He's an overgrown frat boy but I can't lie and say that I don't enjoy coming in on Friday mornings to discuss Olivia Pope and President Fitzgerald's relationship (Olitz!) from the previous night's episode of "Scandal." He's Team Fitz, but I just can't ignore Jake's baby blues looking longingly at Liv. Plus he looks super hot in his uniform. What woman can deny a man in uniform?_

_Basically, my life couldn't get any better._

* * *

  **October 13**

    "Hey, watch it, lady!"

    Mindy looks up from her phone to see a bike messenger barreling towards her and pushes herself against the storefront of a bakery she had been walking past. One of her heels catches in between the slats of a metal grate and as Mindy straightens up she feels herself wobble and then the tell tale snap of the heel separating from the sole of her shoe.

    "Ugh, damn it! I'm not an old lady and you just forced me to break the heel on an $800 pair of Jimmy Choos!" Mindy yells as the fleeing cyclist whizzes by. She removes her shoe and stares at the broken heel on the pebble gray suede pump before stepping out of the second shoe and traveling the last block to work.

    Peter is waiting at the elevator when Mindy walks into the lobby. "Please tell me you saw last night's premiere! Can you believe Olitz? Wait," he pauses, taking in Mindy's lack of foot ware, "are you coming in from a hot one night stand? Are we doing the doctor walk of shame this morning? You go girl! Pound it," Peter finishes, putting his fist up.

    Mindy ignores Peter's attempt at a fist pump and steps into the elevator as soon as the doors open. She presses the button for the third floor before answering. "What? No! Gross. I broke my heel trying to avoid a homicidal bike messenger. I wasn't going to walk wearing one heel so I had to go barefoot. I should have some flats in my office but it's not going to go well with my outfit," waving her hand up and down her to show off the teal skirt and dark gray cardigan over the black blouse she was wearing, "I'm going to look like I'm in high school and I mean, looking young usually isn't my problem considering I'm only in my mid 20's, but I want to look like I can buy my wine legally. And what do you mean last night's premiere? Today is Thursday."

    "Uh, no, sweetheart, today is Friday. Friday the 13th to be exact."

    "What!?"

    "Oooh, not only did your heel break but you missed 'Scandal?' Hope you're not superstitious or today is might become the worst day of your life," Peter laughs as he walks out the elevator and towards his office. "Maybe you can ask Morgan for a lucky rabbit's foot. I think he has one left over from when he had that pet owl."

    Mindy steps into her office and opens up the cabinet she uses to hang her coats and hold any emergency supplies. She cleans her feet off and slips into the flats, frowning down at the plain shoes and cursing the bike messenger for ruining a pair of heels she had worn twice before this morning. Before Mindy can mourn her beloved Jimmy Choos any longer, Jeremy walks in wearing a black fedora bedazzled with the letters "Jere" on the band of the hat.

    "Hey, man. Nice hat."

    "Thank you, Mindy, that's very kind of you. I need your help, desperately. Peter is with a patient, Danny doesn't seem to be in yet, and my favorite patient needs to lose weight and I can't be the one to tell her! She's the one who made me this hat. Please, please, please help me. I promise to take on the dental hygienist and her annoying sports lawyer boyfriend when they come in next week if you do this for me," Jeremy pleads.

    "What? Jeremy, I'm not going to do your dirty work for you! Even if that sports attorney clearly flirts with any woman on two legs when the soon to be mother of his children is right there, I can't!"

    Jeremy sighs, removing the fedora and placing it over his heart. "Mindy, please, I am begging you. Please help me and I will let you play your mixes in the waiting room for an entire week. Don't make me get on my knees; it's unbecoming for a man like myself."

    "Ugh, fine! Where's her chart?"

    Mindy follows Jeremy out of her office and in the direction of the exam rooms when she sees Danny coming out of the break room with a cup of coffee. He lights up briefly, giving her a smile before looking her up and down. "What happened to your heels? I don't think I've ever seen you in the office without your heels. You look, shorter."

    "Bike messenger nearly ran me over and I broke the heel so I'm stuck with these for the rest of the day."

    "Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Do you need me to take you home?" Danny asks, worry in his eyes.

    "Nah," Mindy says, waving Danny off. "I'll be fine. Well, I'll be fine once I get home and watch 'Scandal' with some wine and popcorn, but unfortunately I can't do that for another, oh, eight hours or so. I better go, Jeremy is waiting on me to go and do his dirty work."

    "You sure you don't need anything, Min?"

    "Danny, did you just give me a nickname?"

    "No, no. I said Mindy! You just didn't hear the last syllable!" Danny rushes.

    Mindy laughs. "Okay,  _Dan_. Besides, these flats might come in handy if you decide to steal another patient," she finishes as she walks away to the waiting Jeremy.

    "That was one time!" Danny smiles and shakes his head at Mindy's retreating figure.

    As she enters the exam room Jeremy bursts out with "Dr. Lahiri, how dare you suggest she needs to lose weight, I think Simone looks fantastic just the way she is!"

    "Relax. Simone, good morning, I'm Dr. Lahiri. Dr. Reed is right; in some pregnancies there is a necessity for the patient to either watch what they eat or for them to make an effort to lose weight in order to maintain their optimum health for themselves and their baby."

    "You lose weight," snaps the curly red haired patient.

    "Excuse me?" asks Mindy.

    "You heard me, you lose weight. You could probably stand to lose some weight for the sake of your own unborn child. Jeremy," Simone starts, her face softening, "I thought you were supposed to gain weight when you're pregnant, not lose it."

    Before Jeremy can reply to Simone, Mindy lashes out. "For your information I am not pregnant and I fluctuate between curvy and chubby. I am normal American woman sized, thank you very much."

    "I could've sworn you were at least six months pregnant when you walked in," said Simone's husband, Jimmy.

    "Why should we even listen to you then? You don't even understand the struggle of pregnancy!"

    Mindy presses her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose and takes a deep breath. This was definitely not the way she wanted to start her morning. From breaking her heel to looking like she was an intern instead of a doctor and now she was being called a fat spinster. Mindy was ready to take the first free moment to lock herself in her office to lay on the floor listening to "Let It Go" from the 'Frozen' soundtrack on repeat. "Simone, if you do not lose weight then there can be absolutely serious complications involving you and your child."

    "Dr. Lahiri is correct, Simone. I know it's tough to hear and I wish you didn't have to, but if you continue to gain weight your child can suffer from diabetes and there is the risk of going into early pre-term labor. I am so very sorry," Jeremy acquiesces, giving Simone a puppy dog look.

    Simone nods, understanding. "You and me," pointing at Mindy, "we need to face that facts and lose some weight. It's for our health."

    After sticking around to help Jeremy explain a little more of the situation, Mindy is finally free to go and she quickly walks into her office and grabs her phone, scrolling to the "Frozen" soundtrack for her floor therapy when Betsy appears, knocking on the door softly before walking in.

    "Dr. Lahiri? Your 8:30 appointment is here and I wanted to remind you about your dinner tonight."

    "What dinner?" Mindy whips her head up from her phone to look at the receptionist. "I don't remember a dinner."

    Betsy's eyes widen and she hesitates a moment before continuing. "The dinner party at Jamie and Lucy's is tonight. You told me about a month ago to remind you that way you could go to Union Market after work and pick something up for them."

    Mindy drops the phone on her desk and throws herself onto the floor. "The only thing worse than a smug married couple, Bets? Lots of smug married couples."

* * *

    Mindy met Jamie when she took an online Latin class in college. She found his posts both funny and educational and they decided to meet up in the city for coffee to see where things would go. Unfortunately Mindy discovered that Jamie was really been in love with his best friend Lucy, and that Lucy felt the same way, and while Mindy was happy for the couple and proud of her matchmaking skills, she was disappointed that she missed out on her chance with Jamie. However, he made it up to her by helping her with Latin and setting her up with whatever single friends he and Lucy had available.

    "Hey, Mindy, glad you could make it! Come on in." Jamie ushers Mindy into the brownstone, taking her plaid coat to hang on the stand by the door.

    "I brought you some macarons," Mindy says, handing Jamie the box filled with the delicate sweets. "How's Lucy?"

    "Busy with some high profile case, the usual," he says, rolling his blue eyes. "Follow me and I'll introduce you to everyone. We're just about to sit down for dinner."

    The dining room is towards the back of the house and as Jamie said, most of the guests have already been seated at the table. Lucy eagerly waves at Mindy and continues to sit down the plates in front of the guests while her husband does the introductions. "Mindy, this is Colin and Anna, Logan and Veronica, Rose and John, and then Lucy's sorority sister Jillian and her friend Danny Castellano."

    Mindy smiles and nods at everyone, lingering a little over Danny's lopsided smile and admiring his slightly unbuttoned white shirt and black blazer before Jillian interrupts. "No flashing bow and shot glass necklace today?"

    "No, no," Mindy starts, a tight smile on her face. "We Boston girls only wear flashing bows and shot glasses on very special occasions." She sits down at the last empty seat at the table. The fact that she was the only single in a room of pairs did not go unnoticed. There were only a few moments of peace and small talk before the conversation somehow turned the focus onto her.

    "So Mindy, how's your love life?" Lucy asks. "Still dating that doctor?"

    Feeling the flush of embarrassment crawling up the back of her neck even six months later, Mindy takes a gulp of water before continuing. "Oh, no. Definitely not."

    Colin takes the opportunity to speak up. "You really ought to meet someone and soon, Mindy. Since you're an OB/GYN I think you know the importance of getting your life together before time is up." He rubs his wife's swollen belly and Anna smiles. "Tick tock, tick tock," he continues.

    "Yes, well, how many marriages is it that ends in divorce nowadays? Is it one in three or one in two?"

    "One in two," chimes in Danny, quickly glancing at Mindy before returning his interest to his dinner plate.

    "Seriously, Mindy," Colin continues, "why is it that there's so many single girls that are unable to find and hold onto a man?"

    Wondering when she became the spokesperson for single ladies who couldn't get a ring put on it, Mindy quickly tries to think of an answer. "I don't know, maybe it's that we live in a society where we put a premium on white women with perfect noses." She's greeted by silence until Jamie changes the subject to discuss one of the students in his Latin class who didn't realize "Et tu, Brute?" was in fact Latin and not slang thought up by William Shakespeare.

* * *

    Mindy excuses herself right before dessert. She claims that it's a work emergency she has to take care of and that she is deeply apologetic for having to leave early, but the truth is that if she has to hear about kindergarten scholarships and the struggles of being gluten free for one more minute the night might end in a murder suicide. She grabs her coat from off the rack and quickly puts it on, cinching the belt roughly in frustration. Mindy digs in her pockets for Jolly Ranchers, momentarily pausing and slumping her shoulders in defeat when she hears footsteps coming into the foyer.

    "Hey, Mindy."

    "Danny," she replies, quickly glancing up before continuing her search for candy.

    "How are you doing?" he says, shoving his hands into his pants pockets and rocking back and forth on his heels a bit.

    Mindy forces out a laugh while she unwraps a hard candy. "Really? After the kind of day I had at work and then with dinner just now you're asking me how I'm doing? You're not in some sort of cahoots with Colin are you? I mean, I already make a fool of myself in front of you most of the time, I don't need any extra help."

    Danny arches an eyebrow at Mindy. "I'm not sure what you mean."

    "I know I'm not as artsy and well read as I wish I was, but you know when I was very well read? When I was studying in medical school to become a doctor. I know that I care more about which celebrity wore what better than election season and that whenever I get together with my brother I am a ridiculous mess but hey, at least I'm a hot mess, you know?" Her phone buzzes, notifying her that the taxi she requested via some new app is waiting out front. "My ride is here. Goodnight, Danny."

    "Look, Min, I'm sorry if I've been a rude to you. And I don't think you're an idiot. I mean, you do play the same songs over and over again to the point that even I know the lyrics and you are more likely to know where Tina Fey had lunch than what the weather is that day and I'm not sure if I'm appalled or actually admire you when it comes to you handling your alcohol and the guys you go out with really do seem to be dicks. When I met you at Richie's New Year's brunch I was an unbelievably mean and selfish jerk. I had gotten a call from my ex wife the night before and was in a horrible mood. I took it out on you, which you did not deserve." Danny takes a deep breath, running a hand through his hair before continuing. "The thing is, what I'm trying to say, very inarticulately, is that despite what I may have led you to believe, is that you're great, and I mean it. I like you very much."

    "You mean, despite my horrible public speaking skills where I especially lack a filter and my obsession with gossip and shopping. Oh, and I also know that I could stand to lose fifteen pounds and have blue eyes."

    "I don't want that," Danny says quietly, looking thoughtfully at Mindy.

    Mindy pauses at Danny's response, being completely speechless for probably the first time in her life.

    "No, I like you very much, just the way you are, Min."

    Before Mindy can even form coherent thoughts about what was going on between herself and Danny, Jillian walks out of the dining room and sees Danny speaking with Mindy. "Daniel, I was just telling Lucy and Jamie about our trip to the theater. You should really hurry up and help me tell the story," snapping her fingers at Danny.

    Danny's jaw noticeably tenses and he gives Mindy a small wave before turning to head towards Jillian and the others, leaving Mindy standing in the foyer wondering what the hell just happened.

* * *

  **October 15**

_I haven't heard anything from Danny since Friday night. I did see him Saturday at the hospital, but I don't think it counts if I was on my way to check on a patient and he was asleep on the couch in the doctors' lounge. When we're in the office we'll make small talk, but I'm certainly not as close to him as the others. I never thought I gave him any sort of lasting impression. I mean, he's a jerk. Right?_

* * *

   "Wow, Dr. L. This is some really ritzy place you picked out," Morgan whistles appreciatively, looking around the dining area of the restaurant where he, Betsy, Shauna, and Mindy are having brunch. "I don't know if I can afford it."

    Mindy rolls her eyes at Morgan. "It's $10 a person for an all you can eat brunch, it's not that fancy. It's just popular. I'm really glad you all were able to make it today!"

    "I love our brunches, Mindy." Shauna begins, glancing over in Morgan's direction. "Just us girls and all."

    "Oh, no, no. It's fine. Morgan totally counts." Mindy reassures her.

    Morgan smiles at Mindy and uses his fork to steal some crab from her king crab eggs benedict. "That's because you always take chances on people no one else will."

    Remembering the conversation from Friday night, Mindy begins. "Do you know what Danny told me? He says I only go out with guys who are dicks and I think he might be right."

    "Uh, yeah, he would know," Morgan nods knowingly.

    Freezing with her fork halfway to her mouth Mindy cocks her head and squints her eyes at the male nurse. "What do you mean?"

    "It's no surprise that Dr. Castellano said that. Come on, the bitter divorcee stewing over a lifetime of rage and regret? But, I wonder if under that grizzled and icy exterior does a warm heart beat," Morgan finishes dramatically before scooping up fruit salad onto his plate.

    Mindy chews on her bottom lip before continuing. "He was at Jamie and Lucy's dinner party Friday night and we had an interesting, uh, conversation as I was leaving." She pauses, wondering if she should tell them and deciding they were the most trustworthy friends she had outside of a handful she spoke to from college. "Don't mention it at work or anything, okay? He said that he liked me, just the way I am."

    Shauna and Betsy let out loud squeals and Morgan moves to pick Mindy up and twirl her around before setting her back down in her seat. "Just as you are? Not thinner or less self involved?" asks Betsy excitedly.

    "Nope," Mindy replies while shaking her head.

    "And this is someone who really annoys you right? I mean, almost every time we talk about him it's about how boring he is and how he needs to remove the stick from where the sun don't shine," says Shauna.

    Mindy remains quiet for a few beats before answering. "I think so. I mean, I don't know. I'm not sure about anything anymore. We've gotten along better since the first time we met and…," she drifts off thinking of the bear claw and his concern over her broken heel. "Maybe I should stop being so judgmental and give him a chance to show me I was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong."

    "And it probably wouldn't be the last time either, Doctor L. Now, tell me, is your purse big enough to hold this Tupperware or is it too obvious under my jacket?" Morgan asks, completely serious.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to get this chapter posted ASAP once I saw the Entertainment Weekly photo on Tumblr! As much as I want to finish this story before April 1st I'm not quite sure I'll reach that deadline. I want to thank you for your reviews and for just taking the time to read MLD. It definitely means the world to me and, like always, I am beyond grateful. Enjoy! xoxo

 

**November 1**

“Who do I have on the list so far, Betsy?” asks Mindy. The doctor and the receptionist are currently in the break room planning the finishing touches on Mindy’s birthday dinner party. Mindy hates turning another year older because it reminds her that she’s, well, another year older. She is determined that this year will be different because while she might be alone and single, she most certainly isn’t lonely. Mindy looks across the table at Betsy, who has the notepad they’re writing the final guest list on. They’ve invited everyone from the practice, along with a few other people. Mindy feels it from the top of her head to the bottom of her Valentino heels that this is going to be a good birthday.

            “Gwen, Shauna, Morgan, Peter, Jeremy,” Betsy blushes at the mention of his name. “Tamra will be there with Ray Ron if he can get someone to switch shifts with him. I haven’t heard anything from Dr. Castellano.”

            “Haven’t heard what from me?” Danny enters the break room, stopping by the fridge to grab a bottle of cold pressed juice.

            Mindy quickly turns her head away from Danny to look out the window. The incident from last month’s dinner party has never been mentioned or brought up. Smiles were exchanged in the halls at work and Mindy was even able to get him to watch half an episode of ‘Scandal’ with her and Peter in the lounge. That is until Danny said the show made a mockery of the American government and Olivia deserved to be happy, “something she couldn’t get with Fitz” he said, with a pointed look in Mindy’s direction before he proceeded to read his newspaper. Other than that they were the same as always.

            “Mindy’s birthday dinner party is on Friday. You never RSVP’d and I, well, we, didn’t know if you were coming or not. We’re just double checking the guest list and the menu,” Betsy pragmatically explains.

            Taking a sip from his bottle Danny levels his gaze at Mindy who has since turned her eyes back towards him. They both stare at each other until Betsy coughs, interrupting whatever moment they are having. “Sorry, Betsy. I’m on call Friday. I will be in the hospital watching over patients, including the Noble twins since someone is taking the day off for her birthday. I have to make sure someone is there in case Ms. Noble goes into labor.”

            “You mean steal my patients,” Mindy says, smiling softly.

            Matching her smile Danny shrugs his shoulders. “I’ve got to get them when I can, you know? With the economy and all.” His smile widens when he sees he’s made Mindy laugh. “Figure I’d make a joke about it since you still say I stole your patient when I didn’t. Happy early birthday, Min.”

            Mindy watches Danny leave. She doesn’t particularly pay attention to Betsy until the usually passive girl pinches Mindy’s forearm. “Ow! What?” Mindy yelps.

            “Sorry, Dr. Lahiri. You were all sorts of day dreamy and it was the first thing I thought of. I was asking where you wanted to order your birthday dinner from that way I could start calling it in.”

            “You know what, Betsy? I think I’m going to make the dinner myself. Oh, come on! Don’t give me that look!” pleads Mindy when she sees Betsy’s eyes threaten to pop out of her head. “I’m not that bad!”

            “Uh,” Betsy begins, uncertain on how to continue “You want to make the whole dinner by yourself? Dr. Lahiri, when I was talking about the ‘Sex and The City’ episode where Carrie uses her oven for additional storage you told me you couldn’t believe you had forgotten about that scene and should probably see what you could fit in there as soon as you got home. I’m just saying,” she says, hesitating. “Are you sure you’re ready for this kind of responsibility?”

            Standing up Mindy goes behind Betsy and pulls the receptionist’s chair back from the table. “Of course! I mean, how hard could it be? The only thing we need is Pinterest. Come on, I have a couple hours until my next appointment. Let’s go into my office and figure out how I can blow everyone’s minds.”

* * *

  **November 3**

             _Today is the big day! I got up early and went to the shops to buy everything for dinner tonight. As an appetizer I’m going to try cranberry pecan brie crostini with a maple sugar glaze. There is a one pot pasta dish with veggies for the main course because a one pot sounds right up my alley. Then finally for dessert, a chocolate tart. I’ll throw some sliced strawberries on top and drizzle caramel over it all. It’s going to be perfect!!_

_Oh, crap, my work beeper is going off. It looks like Ms. Noble’s contractions are getting closer and closer together. I better get out of here. Here’s to hoping I can deliver the babies and make my dinner on time!_

* * *

 After being stuck in traffic Mindy decides that running is the fastest option and she jumps out of her taxi to jog the last few blocks to the hospital. Out of breath, Mindy goes into the locker room and trades her black leggings and baggy sweatshirt for blue scrubs and pink Nikes. Once she’s finished changing she heads to Mrs. Noble’s room to look over her chart and to see if the twins are going to be delivered today.

            “All right, you’re almost 38 1/2 weeks along. That means you’re more than ready to have these babies, Mrs. Noble. Letme see how far you’re dilated and we’ll go from there,” Mindy smiles at the expectant mother.

            “Dr. Castellano has been checking up on me and making me comfortable. Is he going to be helping with the delivery?” Ms. Noble asks.

            “No, not unless Dr. Lahiri requests my assistance,” Danny says, appearing at the doorway of the hospital room. “Do you, Dr. Lahiri?”

            After glancing at Danny, Mindy focuses her attention back onto her patient. “I don’t think so. Everything should be fine and good to go-“ She stops suddenly.

            “Mindy?” Danny asks, stepping into the room after Mindy goes quiet and doesn’t start her normal chatter back up immediately.

            “Ms. Noble,” Mindy begins, standing back up and throwing her gloves into the trash can. “One of the twins seems to have decided to join Cirque du Soleil. He's twisted himself upside down and is now in breech. We’re going to have to perform a c-section to get them both out, okay? There’s nothing to worry about. They’re both fine. The c-section is going to make things a lot easier for everyone than if we were to attempt a normal delivery. Dr. Castellano is going to take you down and I’ll be right in to take care of everything.”

            As Danny comes across the room to wheel Ms. Noble to surgery, he stops by Mindy and puts a hand on her arm. “Do you need my help?”

            Mindy shakes her head before gently moving her arm away in order to tie her dark hair up into a high bun. “I should be fine. I just need to make it home to cook dinner. But thanks, Danny. Let me go and start scrubbing in.”

            Danny helps Ms. Noble into a wheelchair and begins to push her out of the room. Mindy follows right behind, pausing to watch Danny walk towards the elevator. She gives herself a small slap on the cheek to snap out of it. Mindy had a job to do, one that didn’t involve fantasizing over coworkers.

* * *

            Mindy is lying on the lounge’s couch when Danny comes in. “Good job with the delivery,” Danny says as he sits down in the chair next her.

            Raising her head up to look at the male doctor, Mindy grins. “Dr. Castellano, are you actually giving me a compliment?”

            Danny gives her a quick smile before taking a sip of coffee in a paper cup. “Don’t you have a party to get to?”

            “Ugh, don’t remind me,” groans Mindy as she finally moves from the couch. She stretches her arms up and over her head. “Not only do I still have to make everything but I also need to shower and get dressed. I can’t wait to get out of these scrubs.”

            “I’ve always thought you looked nice in scrubs though. I’m sure you look nice out of them as well,” Danny says, a smirk playing on his lips before he raises his cup to drink more coffee.

            “Are you- You know what, never mind. I am going to go now. Don’t forget to stop by later. If you want, I mean. I’ll see you later, Danny.” Once she’s in the locker room Mindy absentmindedly stands in front of her open locker. Was that Danny’s way of flirting with her? “That damn ‘handsome jerk’ doesn’t seem to be so much of a jerk anymore.”

* * *

            The pot on the stove simmers with vermicelli pasta, diced tomatoes, spinach, and vegetable broth while Mindy starts on the crostini. She had debated on making the chocolate tart first but figured there couldn’t be anything difficult about cutting bread into slices, and then smearing them with cheese and dried cranberries. The tart could wait.

            “’Slice baguette into ½ sections,’” Mindy read from her tablet. “½ what? Do I cut the loaf in half? I’m on the first step and already confused! Why can’t it be like the pasta recipe where I just dump a whole bunch of things into a pot and voila! Food!” She attempts to cut the baguette into little coins and ends up with squished up pieces of bread. “How the hell does the blogger get their pieces all nice and even?  _And_  at an angle!? I’m a freaking doctor! This shouldn’t be difficult! I helped a woman deliver twins today- ugh! Who the hell is calling now?”

            Mindy searches for her phone where Beyonce’s “Love On Top” blares mutely. She empties the contents of her purse onto the floor before finally finding the phone stuck to an empty Milky Way wrapper. Mindy wipes chocolate off the screen and answers the call as she makes her way back into her kitchen.

            “Ayeeeeeeeee!”

            Mindy smiles when she hears her brother from the other end of the line. “Hey, little man. How’s your Friday night going?” She measures out brown sugar and maple syrup into a small pot, leaving it to heat up.

“It’s going. I’m working on a project that’s due Monday and it’s hella cramping my style because I can’t go out this weekend. How’s your dinner? Have you called and ordered pizza yet?” Rishi teases.

            “Damn it, Rishi. Can’t you have a little bit of faith in me? It’s actually really easy stuff,” Mindy retorts. She’s annoyed at the doubt everyone has displayed over her ability, or supposed lack of, to cook.

            “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, sis. Your dinner is going to be the bomb diggity. Better?”

            There’s a knock on her door and Mindy panics thinking her guests have shown up 90 minutes early while she’s completely unprepared. She opens it and finds none other than Daniel Castellano standing in front of her. He’s wearing a slightly rumpled gray button down that looks like he hastily threw it over the black shirt he wears underneath. Danny’s also holding a bouquet of red tulips and nervously sweating, choosing to smile rather than verbally greet her.

             “Danny, what are you doing here? I thought you were on call.” Mindy can hear Rishi on the other end of the phone but she’s much more concerned on Danny and why her heart is beating faster than normal at the sight of him.

            “I uh, I got someone to cover the rest of my shift. After Ms. Noble everything calmed down and there really wasn’t a need for me to stay. These are for you,” Danny offers her the bouquet and clears his throat, finally calming down. “You know, you didn’t do such a bad job with that breech. I wanted to see how you were doing with dinner but if you were busy on the phone I could come back later or –“

            “Rishi, I gotta go. Bye.” Mindy hangs up on her brother before he can even say goodbye. “It was just my brother, no one important. Not that Rishi isn’t important, I mean. Oh, never mind. Please, come in,” she finishes, stepping aside to let Danny into her apartment. Before she can say anything more, her smoke detector begins to shriek. Mindy turns to the stove and sees the small pot she had poured the sugar and syrup into emitting a cloud of smoke. “Shit!”

            Danny calmly strides over to the stove and carefully removes the pot from the burner. He places it in the sink before grabbing a magazine to wave smoke away from the alarm. Once everything is calm and silent he looks over to Mindy with a lopsided grin. “Now do you need my help, Dr. Lahiri?”

            “Can you cook?”

            Already in the process of rolling up his shirt sleeves Danny nods his head. “I learned from my Ma when I was a teenager. Sometimes she worked nights and my little brother had to eat so it was up to me. Plus I’m Italian. I like to cook. Now, what did you have planned for tonight?” He peers into the sink and then back at Mindy. “Except for burnt caramel. I think you’ve got that ready to go.”

            “That was supposed to be a maple sugar glaze for the crostini, thank you,” Mindy says. She reaches up on her bookcase for a vase and brings it over to the sink. Mindy wrinkles her nose as she turns the faucet on and waits for the vase to fill. “Ugh, that pot smells horrible. I’ll probably never be able to clean it and will just have to throw it away.” She shuts the water off. “Thank you for the flowers, Danny. Do you know what they’re supposed mean?”

            “They’re just flowers. If you want them to have a meaning, whatever it is you want them to be, that’s what they mean,” Danny answers, shrugging.

            Mindy smiles at Danny’s simplicity; it’s such a change from Brendan and his desire to control and manipulate everything to his advantage. After setting the vase on the table, where the red flowers brightened the room considerably, Mindy changes screens on her tablet to show the menu she had planned. “Cranberry pecan crostini with a maple sugar glaze, one pot pasta, and a chocolate caramel tart for dessert. I tried slicing the bread but it didn’t really turn out like I had planned,” Mindy says apologetically, pointing at the severed chunks on the kitchen island.

            “I don’t think your one pot pasta turned out so great either,” Danny remarks, having lifted the lid on the larger pot to show Mindy the soggy contents.

            “This is going to be a disaster, Danny! Everyone is going to be here in a little over an hour and there’s nothing planned!” Mindy wails, freaking out about the situation.

            “No, no, no. Don’t stress. Listen, you’ve got me to help you, we can do this together.  I promise. Let me see what you have in your fridge, all right? We’ll go from there,” Danny tries to reassure Mindy while opening the refrigerator door. “You have eggs, cream, bacon, parmesan cheese. That right there can be made into carbonara. That’s one dish down. You have lettuce and the bread can be made into croutons. Now we can serve salad, too.” Danny straightens up and closes the door. “Did you make the chocolate tart yet? If you haven’t we can start on that and put it in the fridge to set. It’ll be ready to go by the end of dinner.”

            “The recipe seemed simple enough for me to make the tart last,” Mindy explains, pulling the recipe’s website up on her tablet. “It’s just chocolate and cream.  I bought a premade crust because I’m lazy. I was going to have it be simple and then accessorize it to make it look fancy.”

            “Well, you’re the best at accessorizing. Come on. Let’s get your birthday dinner under control.”

            Danny shows Mindy how to whisk hot cream into a bowl with the chocolate until it’s smooth and glossy. Once that’s done Mindy pours the ganache into the crust and carefully places the tart into the fridge to chill. Danny grates a triangle of parmesan cheese while Mindy tears the bread from the crostini into smaller pieces, putting the croutons into a large bowl.

            “Once you’ve melted the butter in the microwave, stir in some chopped garlic from the little jar on the counter. Shake dried parsley into it, too. That’s the green stuff.” Danny instructs.

            Mindy rolls her eyes at the parsley comment but does as she’s told. She pours the wonderfully smelling gold liquid into the bowl full of croutons. Danny tosses the contents with some of the grated cheese before spreading it onto a baking sheet and popping it into the oven.

            “Please tell me this isn’t the only pasta you have left, Mindy,” Danny asks, indicating the large pink box of Hello Kitty shaped pasta located in one of her cupboards.

            Mindy, who was currently cutting the strawberries for the tart, stops and points the knife at Danny. “That comes directly from Korea, I’ll have you know. My friend Alex brought it back from a trip she took this past summer. Besides,” she says, resuming her strawberry handiwork, “it’s my birthday and it’s kind of fitting we’re having Hello Kitty pasta for dinner since I can’t be trusted in making adult decisions.”

            “I wouldn’t say that. I think you make great decisions or you wouldn’t be the kind of doctor that you are. Besides, the world needs more Hello Kitty shaped food. Here,” Danny hands her a glass of red wine. “Have a drink. Happy proper birthday, Min,” he says, clinking his glass against hers.

            “Did I really look like a member of One Direction when we first met?” Mindy asks after her first sip of wine. She’s thinking how different things are now between the two of them than when they were first introduced back in January.

            “Well, Richie corrected me later and told me you were more appropriately dressed for a Tegan and Sara concert. Not as a long lost boy band member.”

            “Bet you were disappointed when I turned out to be straight,” Mindy jokes before taking another sip.

            “No, I wasn’t disappointed at all,” Danny replies matter of factly.

            Their eyes lock. Danny moves his wine glass onto the counter and steps closer towards Mindy but they’re interrupted by insistent knocking on the apartment door.

            Shaking her head in an attempt to clear her mind, Mindy walks over to the door and opens it. Morgan and Peter are the first to come in and promptly sandwich Mindy into a hug between them. Shauna and Gwen follow right after bearing more wine and a few gifts. Betsy and Jeremy come in last, holding hands. Mindy glances back at the stove and sees Danny smiling in her direction. She wonders if it’s the wine or Danny making her feel warm inside.

* * *

            “Good job, Dr. L. How long did you spend on this amazing dinner of salad, pasta, and chocolate pie? It must’ve taken you ages!” Morgan says, shoveling dessert into his mouth.

            “Mindy, you could barely make ramen in college. Seriously, where did you learn to do all of this?” Gwen asks incredulously.

            Shyly glancing at Danny sitting across the table, Mindy turns towards Gwen. “I had help. Danny showed me how to make the croutons and the chocolate tart. He made the pasta all on his own. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without him.”

            “Mindy deserves most of the credit,” Danny humbly explains to the table. “All I did was make the pasta and that was because I didn’t trust her cracking eggs or frying up the bacon.”

            This gets a pout from Mindy and a laugh from everyone else. “Don’t be mad Mindy,” Peter starts. “You might not be able to fry the bacon but you certainly make the bacon,” he grins.

            Shauna takes this moment to speak up, raising her glass. “I think this deserves a toast! To Mindy, who we love, just as she is,” Shauna finishes with a sly wink towards the hostess.

            “To Mindy, just as she is!”

            The sound of clinking glasses and cheers tinkle throughout the room. Mindy couldn’t be happier. Dinner was a success and she was having an amazing time with friends on her birthday. Mindy gets up to refill her wine glass when a series of beeps come from the room.

            “Aw, man. Did we both just get called in for baby duty?” Peter asks Jeremy as he silences his pager.

            Jeremy comes up to Mindy to give her a brief hug. “I’m sorry. We’ve got to go. Happy birthday, Mindy.” He goes to Betsy and kisses her on the corner of her mouth before heading out the door, leaving it open for Peter.

            “Be good tonight, birthday girl. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Peter breaks into a devious smile. “On second thought, do everything I wouldn’t do. Thanks for dinner.” He says goodbye to everyone else and walks out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.

            Mindy takes the empty seat next to Betsy and smiles at the younger girl. “When did you and Jeremy happen?”

            Betsy blushes. “I asked him to bible study. Just like you suggested, Dr. L. He showed up and then we went out for coffee.” She smiles. “We didn’t want to tell anyone until tonight.”

            There’s a knock at the door and Mindy imagines it must be Peter or Jeremy having forgotten something. “It’s unlocked. Come on in!” she calls out. As soon as the door swings open she instantly regrets her invitation.

            Brendan stands awkwardly in the doorway. “Hey, Mindy. I’m sorry. I didn’t think I would be interrupting anything.”

            Betsy leans over to Shauna and whispers, “Who is that? And does he think he looks like Edward Cullen in that coat?”

            Never one to hold back, Shauna loudly answers “It’s the midwife guy who used her for her bod.” She crosses her arms and stares Brendan down, making him even more uncomfortable.

            Mindy stands up and looks at Brendan dumbfounded. “What do you want?”

            “It’s your birthday. I figured we could talk. Please, Mindy,” Brendan begs.

            “How did you even know it was my birthday? You never asked me.”

            “Well, I saw your tweet,” Brendan explains.

            Mindy’s fists ball up at her side. “My Twitter is not for cheating ex-boyfriends. My Twitter is for friends, it is for patients, and it is for Wendy’s to give me a shout-out on my birthday.” She takes a deep breath and looks around the room. Mindy notices her friends’ concern for her and doesn’t want to make a big deal over the situation. “Uh, give me one second, guys. I’ll be right back. Excuse me.” She walks over to Brendan and grabs his arm, pulling him into the bedroom.

            “Mindy, I’ve been going crazy-“ Brendan begins.

            “No,” Mindy hisses, pointing a finger at his face. “Why are you here? All of my friends and coworkers hate you. You were very clear about me not being your girlfriend.”

            “Look. I know that sometimes I can come across a little overly self assured.”

            “Uh, you mean arrogant. Pretentious,” Mindy finishes, flipping her hair over her shoulder. She taps her foot on the floor impatiently.

            Brendan sighs and pulls a paper envelope from his coat pocket. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Mindy. I miss you. Everything felt like it was moving too fast. I wasn’t ready to meet your brother St. Patrick’s weekend but you kept pushing me. I freaked.” He hands her the envelope. “I got you a gift to show how much I need you.”

            Mindy fingers the flap of the envelope open before hesitating. “What about Maria?”

            “Over. Totally over. Not only did she see how much I missed you but she also isn’t as much of a feminist as I am. I’ve been so lost without you, Mindy.”

            Pulling out the contents of the envelope, Mindy sees that Brendan has bought her a star. “Wow. This is unexpected. But Brendan-“

            Danny peeks into Mindy’s bedroom, barely acknowledging Brendan’s presence. “I’m going to go now.”

            Mindy starts to walk towards Danny. “No, please don’t. Stay.”

            Sliding an arm behind Mindy, Brendan smirks at Danny. “Yeah, Danny. Don’t leave on my behalf. Isn’t it time we put the past behind us?”

            “Goodbye, Mindy.” Danny continues to ignore Brendan and quietly leaves the apartment.

            She shakes Brendan’s arm off before turning towards him. “Why are you here?” Mindy demands. “Why have you decided to show up now after all these months, Brendan?”

            “I’ve just told you why. Why was Daniel Castellano here? Oh, look. Here he is again,” he says, hardly surprised when the apartment door slams open.

            The scowl on Danny’s face is unmistakable. “Outside, Delorea,” he growls, pointing towards the hallway.

            “I’m sorry. I’m not quite sure I understand what you’re getting at.” Brendan cocks his head to look at Danny.

            “Outside. Now.” Danny commands before leaving once again.

            Danny isn’t in the hall when they step out and Mindy figures he must have taken the stairs. Cramming six people into an elevator would have normally annoyed Mindy but the rising anxiety she feels is greater than her need for elbow room. She didn’t know what Danny was planning on doing but Mindy didn’t want anyone’s night to be ruined over someone like Brendan.

            Once outside Brendan swaggers over to Danny. “All right. What is it you want?”

            “I should have done this years ago, Delorea,” Danny says as pushes his sleeves up over his elbows.

            “Done what?”

            “This,” and with that final warning Danny throws a right handed punch, connecting with a loud  _pop_  into Brendan’s jaw. 


	8. Chapter 8

            Mindy can’t quite believe her eyes when she sees Danny hit Brendan. This is supposed to be  _Danny_ , the most serious and levelheaded doctor at the practice, yet here he is throwing the first punch. She turns towards the others to gauge their reactions. Shauna and Betsy both have their hands over their mouths in surprise while Gwen watches with her mouth opened in a small ‘o.’ Morgan’s face is completely neutral and he simply observes the fight with his arms crossed.

            “Oh, fuck!” Brendan yells out, clutching his face. “That hurt! What was that for?”

            Danny bounces from one foot to the other for a bit before lunging at Brendan. This time his left fist meets Brendan’s face and Brendan loses his balance. “You know exactly what that was for, Delorea,” Danny spits out angrily.

            “Fine, fine,” Brendan says, doubling over a metal trash can. “I give up. Just give me a moment, all right?” Brendan pretends to be catching his breath but the moment Danny turns away Brendan grabs the trash can’s lid and runs towards Danny. He uses the lid as a makeshift shield and throws himself on top of Danny’s back.

            “Cheat!” Morgan shouts at the two men, finally showing a reaction.

            “Morgan! Go do something!” Mindy shouts at the nurse.

            “No can do, Dr. L. I’m on probation! What if the cops come by and see me involved? I can’t go back to jail!” Morgan walks away to sit on Mindy’s apartment stoop. “Come on, Dr. Castellano! Kick his ass!”

            Danny stumbles but he’s able to turn around and grab onto Brendan’s coat collar. Brendan drops the lid and manages to shrug out of his coat before Danny can pull him backwards. While Danny is entangled with the pea coat Brendan is able to issue a quick jab into Danny’s side.

            “What’s wrong, Danny? Slowing down in your old age?” Brendan taunts when he sees Danny’s face contort in pain. He stops his teasing and ducks when Danny swings at him, barely missing Danny’s fist.

            The ladies huddle up on the stoop by the cheering Morgan. Betsy is shivering in her blue dress and runs upstairs to grab her coat and the first aid kit underneath Mindy’s sink. The three women and Morgan continue to watch over the two men, who are in the process of trying to kick each other like two schoolboys.

            “We are cheering for Danny, right?” asks Shauna. She cocks her head when Brendan comes up from behind Danny and picks him up off the ground. Danny begins flailing around with his legs in the air.

            Gwen nods as Danny manages to free himself from Brendan’s grasp. “Of course we’re for Danny! He never cheated on Mindy and he said he liked her just the way she is. Why wouldn’t we be for Danny?”

            “Well, he did sleep with Brendan’s fiancé all those years ago.” Mindy says, conflicted. “Brendan was brokenhearted.”

            “Guess it’s a tough call to make,” Morgan shrugs noncommittally before cheering when Danny slaps Brendan upside the head.

            Mindy covers her face with her hands before peeking through her fingers. She can’t bear to look away but she doesn’t know how to make the two men quit their bickering. Maybe this fight was a long time coming and the night was just the breaking point. But what upset Danny so much that he felt the need to fight Brendan? Brendan was only talking to Mindy. Unless…

                        “No, no, no!” screams Mindy as she darts off the stoop and towards the doctors. A taxi is coming down the street and neither Danny nor Brendan notice. Brendan grabs Danny at the exact moment Danny tackles him and the momentum causes both men to be thrown in the path of the yellow vehicle.

            The sound of squealing brakes and the smell of burnt tire rubber fill the air but the car manages to stop in time. Danny and Brendan hit the hood of the taxi and tumble onto the other side. Mindy breathes a sigh of relief and begins to run into the street, stopping suddenly when the cab driver steps out of the vehicle.  The man towers over Danny and Brendan, his bald head shining in the reflection of the street lamps.

            “What the hell is the matter with you fools!?” the driver shouts. He inspects the hood of the taxi of the car for damage before going to the passenger side. Satisfied the taxi is no worse for wear he turns back towards Danny and Brendan. “You’re lucky I’m an ex-Marine! Not every cab driver has lightening fast reflexes like I do. Get the hell out of the damn street!” He gets back in the taxi and drives off, but not before shoving his hand out the window and flipping the men off.

            Mindy stands by the curb while the doctors get up. She’s unsure of which man to go to. Danny gingerly touches his swollen cheek and grimaces. He looks towards Mindy and at least has the good graces to be embarrassed. Danny lowers his gaze when he sees the concern written on her face.

            Brendan is dusting himself off a few feet behind Danny, sporting a busted lip. He bends down to pick up his coat and shakes it before putting it back on. “Jerk off,” he mutters.

            Danny stops when he hears Brendan’s insult. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before putting all the energy into one final punch. Danny’s right fist connects with the unsuspecting Brendan’s face with such force that Brendan is knocked back down again.

            Mindy runs over to kneel next to Brendan. She checks out his injuries and sees that while his lip is bleeding somewhat profusely, he won’t be needing stitches anywhere on his face. “Danny, what is your problem?” Mindy looks up at Danny and waits for his answer.

            “My problem?” Danny glances at his torn knuckles and shakes his hand in an attempt to alleviate the pain.

            Nodding, Mindy continues. “You gave me the impression that you’re this guy who is all moral and noble.” She pauses. “And _normal_. Plus you’re helpful in the kitchen. But you’re just as bad as the rest of them, Danny.”

            A small frown escapes Danny. “I see. Well, I guess I’ve been under the wrong impression this entire time. It was a foolish mistake. A very foolish one. Forgive me, Min. I mean, Mindy. I’m sorry.”  He begins to walk down the street when Betsy runs out of the building. Danny shrugs her off and Betsy makes her way towards Mindy and Brendan who have moved to the curb.

            “Where’s Dr. Castellano going?” Betsy asks Mindy. When she doesn’t answer Betsy drops the subject and hands over the first aid kit and an envelope. “I’m not sure what this is but it was on the floor in between the bedroom and bathroom.” Betsy goes back to the others who are huddled together talking and occasionally looking towards the curb.

            “Come on, Mindy. Let’s go upstairs.” Brendan groans as he moves to face Mindy. “We belong together. If I can’t make it with you, I can’t make it with anyone.”

            Mindy looks at the envelope in her hand and peeks inside. It’s the certificate for the star Brendan had bought her and maps on how to locate it in the night sky. She closes her eyes and thinks about how Brendan was never good to her. After a moment she rips the envelope with all of its contents in half and then into quarters. Mindy tosses the pieces at Brendan and stands up, dusting off the back of her dress. “That’s not a good enough offer for me. I’m not willing to gamble my life for someone who is, well, not quite sure. It’s like you said, Brendan. I need someone who is committed and supportive but I’m still looking for something, and someone, even more extraordinary than that. And it’s not you.”

* * *

 

**November 7**

_I think Danny is avoiding me. Or maybe I’m avoiding him. I’m not sure. Not only has he come into work early but he’s been leaving early. This afternoon I stuck my head outside my office to make sure the coast was clear and caught a glimpse of Danny hurrying around the corner. We haven’t spoken since Friday night. Hell, we haven’t even been in the same room together. Jeremy and Peter held a quick meeting this morning and Danny was conveniently with a patient at the same time. It shouldn’t be bothering me but it kind of is._

_Danny was wrong to start the fight. But we were getting along so well before Brendan showed up.  I mean, Danny brought me flowers! And even though he said he didn’t know the meaning of the flowers, a quick search on Google told me that red tulips mean “perfect love” and I’m not sure how to take that. Did he really not know or was he just pretending? Danny also saved my birthday dinner by helping me cook. He didn’t have to bring flowers or help me cook. He didn’t even need to show up but he still did. I was finally able to see that maybe Morgan was right and despite Danny’s super surly appearance there’s a good guy underneath. A really great guy._

_Ugh! What is that matter with me? This is Daniel Castellano! He’s rude and he’s stuck up. He starts fights, even if Brendan had no reason to be at my apartment. Did he somehow forget that he was the one who slept with Brendan’s fiancé?_

* * *

 

**November 10**

“Dang, girl. I hope you’re not going to look like that tomorrow for the luncheon. Pretty sure there won’t be any little kids there for you to lure to your candy cabin in the woods.” Peter chuckles as he walks into the lounge and sits on the couch next to Mindy. He picks up some of her candy wrappers and places them on the table. “Got any Sour Patch Kids in your bag of tricks?”

            Mindy pushes her glasses back up her nose before digging into her purse for candy. After a brief search she pulls out a box and reads the front of it to Peter. “Sour Patch Watermelon. Is that okay?”

            “You’re the best!”

            She hands over the yellow box of candy to Peter and stares at the television for a beat before remembering Peter’s first words. “Wait, what’s tomorrow? And swallow first, please,” when she sees Peter opening his mouth to speak after shoving in a fistful of sour candies only seconds before.

            “That’s what she said! Am I right?” Peter winks and holds his hand up, waiting for Mindy to high five him back. When she just stares at him Peter picks up her hand and slaps it against his. “It’s the Darcy Foundation’s luncheon. Danny is supposed to make some sort of announcement. You are still going right? I mean, you have to go, Mindy. For Danny’s sake.”

            Out of habit Mindy’s right hand touches her left wrist, feeling for a hair tie before remembering she didn’t have one. She runs her fingers through her hair in an attempt to comb out any tangles. “I’ve been stuck here at the hospital since last night, Peter. I’m exhausted and I don’t think I want to do anything tomorrow but sleep. Besides,” giving up on her hair and looking through her purse for more candy. “I don’t think Danny wants me there.”

            “Of course he does! I mean, why wouldn’t he? He needs all the support he needs during this time of year.” Peter pops a green and pink candy into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “I mean, I guess I would too if I found out my wife cheated on me with my best friend.”

            “Ex-squeeze me?” Mindy’s head snaps up from her bag and she turns towards Peter. “What do you mean his wife cheated on him?”

            Peter nods before leaning over to steal Mindy’s bottle of water. “You didn’t know? I mean, I guess you are still new to the practice. Danny caught his wife in bed one November with his best bud.” He twists the cap open on the bottle and takes a swig before continuing. “It was during his residency, I think. Either way, it was pretty rough on the guy. That’s why we all have to go and support him.”

            Mindy grabs her cell phone and looks at the time. The practice closes in an hour and if she hurries she can be there in fifteen minutes via taxi. “I need to go talk to Danny. Right now.” She throws on a floral hoodie over her scrubs and grabs her bag, leaving a trail of candy and wrappers in her wake.

            The taxi takes twenty minutes to get to the practice and after paying the driver, Mindy sprints into the lobby and slips into the elevator just as the doors are closing. She tries to catch her breath during the ride to the third floor but she’s still panting when she gets to the receptionist desk where Jeremy and Betsy are having a conversation.

            “Dr. Lahiri, are you all right?” asks Betsy, standing up from her seat in concern.

            Mindy glances around the office, noticing Danny’s office is dark and his door is closed. “Where’s Danny?”

            “He left early today. I think you missed him by half an hour or so. Dr. Lahiri, really, are you okay? I can get whatever it is you need.” Betsy offers.

            Mindy leans on her elbows on the receptionist’s desk, face in her hands. “I think I messed things up with Danny,” she moans.

            Jeremy puts his hand on Mindy’s shoulder. “What do you mean, Mindy?”

            “The fight from Friday night might not have been his fault. Peter told me November is a rough for Danny because it’s the month that he found his wife in bed with his best friend.”

            “Christina was a trollop,” Jeremy starts. “I went to school with Danny and he actually stayed with me after he found her with bed with that wanker Brendan.”

            Mindy turns towards Jeremy. “Brendan who?”

            “I think it was Delores? Delaura? I’m not quite sure. He was studying to be holistic midwife-“ Jeremy drifts off and his eyes open wide. “Mindy, what practice did you come from again?”

            Betsy jumps in before Mindy can answer. “She came from the Manhattan Women Health Clinic. There’s a doctor there who specializes in holistic healthcare named Brendan Delorea.” Betsy clamps a hand over her mouth when she realizes the connection Jeremy had made.

            “When Danny came into work on Monday he never mentioned a fight to me. All he said was that things didn’t work out the way he wanted them to. Betsy was the one who told me he got into a fight and I can promise you that if it was in fact Brendan Delorea, Danny had his reasons.” Jeremy hesitates before continuing. “And I think his reasons had more to do with you than with his ex-wife.”

            Mindy nods her understanding at Jeremy’s statement. She had been under the impression that Danny was the philandering creep when really it was Brendan the whole time. She feels she should be more surprised at this discovery but she’s not. What does distress Mindy is that she chose to listen to Brendan without ever giving Danny an opportunity to defend himself and because of her prejudice she might have ruined things with Danny for good.

            “What time is the luncheon tomorrow?” Mindy asks. She had to fix things between her and Danny.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go until this story is complete! I'm doing everything possible to get it posted before tomorrow's double episode premiere.

**November 11**

            _I can do this. It’s going to be a piece of cake. I will get out of this cab and walk into this luncheon with my head held high and I will be 100% honest with Danny. I am going to tell him how wrong I was about him. I’m going to tell Danny that while these feelings have seemingly snuck up on me they are completely 100% genuine. I want the red tulips to mean something. He gave me the choice on my birthday to have them mean whatever I wanted them to mean and I’m making that decision right now._

_I know I could have called but this is something I have to do in person. There is a chance Danny would reject my call when he saw my name on the screen or delete an email I sent without even reading it. It’s a little more difficult to ignore me if I go up to him and ask to speak with him. Oh my God. What if he tells me he doesn’t want to hear what I have to say? What do I do then? Maybe I should have sent an email instead and pretend it was about work to trick him into reading it. Damn it!_

_I have to stop writing now. The cab driver is threatening to call the cops if I don’t get out. Seriously? I don’t even understand why he’s complaining, considering this is probably the single most expensive cab ride ever since I let him run the timer the entire time I’ve been writing. Ugh. Here goes nothing._

* * *

 The Darcy Foundation prides itself on recognizing those making advancements involving the medical field. This can vary from a doctor who has created a new technique or is going overseas to help out by donating time to perform surgeries to the underprivileged.  It is by no means a competition but it is very prestigious and an honor to be acknowledged by the foundation. No one at the practice knew Danny was involved with today’s luncheon until a few days ago when he made the announcement. While Mindy was not around to hear this directly from Danny, she had received an invitation in the mail. However she had no idea how significant the folded piece of paper was until the conversation with Peter the day before.

Mindy checks her cream colored coat and purse at the front and walks into the main room. She searches around for Danny and finds him standing by the windows at the back with a small scowl on his face, not unlike the first time they met. After adjusting the neckline on her lace maroon dress, Mindy takes a deep breath and walks directly over to Danny.

“Hey, Danny,” Mindy says timidly. “Thanks for inviting me.”

Danny searches her face for a moment before replying. “I invited everyone from the office to be here. You just happen to be part of that.”

Mindy closes her eyes and takes another deep breath. She hadn’t expected Danny to be so detached. “Oh, okay. Uh, Danny? I was wondering if we could go and talk for a-“ Mindy stops when Jillian comes up and interrupts the conversation.

“Sorry! Daniel, they really want to start soon. Don’t forget that you’ll be up first.” Jillian says, smiling brightly at Danny and brushing imaginary lint off his blazer.

“Right.” Danny looks at Mindy and then at Jillian before turning his attention out the window.

“Come on, Daniel. Be helpful! I’m going to go make sure everything is set up properly and ready to go.” Jillian rolls her eyes. “We don’t need to have a repeat of the conference from earlier this year,” she finishes with a quick glance at Mindy before walking away.

Danny focuses on Mindy once again. “I’m sorry, Mindy. I really should get going.” As he attempts to edge past Mindy, she places her hand on his chest, stopping him. Danny looks down at her hand and then back towards her face.

“Please. Just five minutes,” Mindy begs. She nods in the direction of the coat room and manages to slip inside unseen. Danny follows right behind her with a small smile on his face that quickly disappears once Mindy turns to face him.

“Okay?” Danny asks.

“I owe you an apology. Brendan told me it was his fiancé you slept with that left him heartbroken,” Mindy begins a little uncertainly. “I shouldn’t have listened to him and jumped to conclusions without hearing the whole story.”

“No, it was the other way around. It was my wife, Christina. And it was my heart that was broken,” Danny says sadly.

“I’m sorry. No wonder whenever his name was mentioned you reacted strangely. Brendan deserved everything he got in that fight. Well done, Danny.” Mindy offers a weak smile. “What I’m trying to say is, well, um. You once said you liked me just as I am. And I just wanted to say, likewise.” Mindy looks down at her shoes before continuing. “I mean, you almost always have a scowl on your face when you’re in a crowd; it makes you unapproachable. You’re haughty and you are absolutely horrible at making small talk. I also really think you should incorporate some Top 40 into your musical rotation and some color into your wardrobe. Have you thought about maybe a red plaid blazer? I think it would look great on you.”

Realizing she’s going off on a slight tangent, Mindy reels it in. “But you’re a nice man. And if you wanted to come over sometime I would really like that.” She widens her eyes and waves her hands at Danny. “No, not like that! I just mean, well, I would like to see more of you outside of work.”  

Danny rubs his hand across his jaw and lets out a deep sigh. “Oh, boy.”

Before either doctor can say anything else, there’s an announcement introducing Danny and he gives Mindy an indecipherable look. Danny walks out of the coat room and Mindy follows suit, finding an empty seat next to Peter and Morgan. The two men cheer for Danny one last time before quieting down.

“They make such a cute couple, don’t they?” Peter asks, putting an arm around the back of Mindy’s chair.

Mindy breathes in sharply and grips the sides of her chair. “What do you mean?”

“Danny and Jillian. Who else would I be talking about?” Peter whispers. “They’ve been hanging out a lot lately.”

Morgan leans forward all the way in his seat to look at Mindy. “Weren’t you with Brendan after your birthday? I could be wrong but it kind of seemed like you chose him.”

“I did not choose, Brendan!” Mindy hisses. “I was just wrong about everything, Morgan. First impressions suck.”

Jillian and Danny are both on stage, with Jillian taking control of the microphone. “I just want to thank the Darcy Foundation for giving us the opportunity to talk more about our future plans and endeavors. Dr. Castellano and I are absolutely thrilled to be working with the rehabilitation program in Santa Fe for expecting mothers.” She pauses as the audience applauds their excitement over the news.

“They are going to make the most attractive babies ever, “ whispers Morgan. “Don’t you think so, Dr. L?”

“No!” Mindy cries out. Her outburst is heard by the entire room.

Everyone in attendance turns in their seat to look at Mindy, who feels the hot flush of embarrassment on her face and hopes she isn’t the same color as her dress. She uncomfortably stands up and looks around the room while avoiding Danny’s gaze. “It’s just, what a pity for New York to be losing such a wonderful doctor. Doesn’t anyone think it’s terrible having one our top people leave us? I mean, Danny is the best there is.” Mindy claps her hands together and gives the crowd a dazzling smile. “You know what? I just remembered I have somewhere else to be. I am so sorry but I really must be on my way. I hope everyone has a great lunch!”

Mindy’s heels click across the floor as she walks out of the room, stopping by the coat check to pick up her belongings. As she waits she overhears murmurs coming from the dining area; concerns on whether Mindy was mentally stable or if she was drunk. Mindy grabs her coat and purse and, without bothering to put her coat on, heads outside to hail a cab. Mindy’s apartment is the only place she is going to feel safe at and not only does it have food, alcohol, and 600 television channels, but she will be able to ignore the world that Daniel Castellano lives in.

* * *

  **November 12**

Mindy cracks an eye open, groaning at the sunshine streaming in through her window. She sees the empty wine bottle on her nightstand and pushes herself up onto one arm to look at the clock next to the bottle. Mindy can tell that one of the hands is by the 10 and the other is by the 1 but she is much too hungover to decipher if it’s 10:05am or 1:50pm.  No matter what the time is, the sun takes no mercy on Mindy and her excessive drinking from the night before. Moaning in a combination of disgust and embarrassment, she throws the mint and white polka dot comforter over her head in an attempt to hide from everything.

            After a couple hours Mindy feels well enough to get up out of bed. She properly glances at the clock and sees it is only a little past noon. Mindy softly walks into the kitchen, scared that if she makes any sound the world will know she’s awake and throw something else her way. Yesterday she confessed her romantic feelings to Danny, only to learn he was moving 2,000 miles away with Jillian. And to make matters even worse she had made a fool of herself in front of the luncheon with whatever her speech before running out. Mindy had enough embarrassment to last her the rest of the year. Probably for the rest of her life.

            She fills the coffee machine with water and presses a pod labeled Cinnamon Bun Café into the top before turning the machine on. While waiting for the coffee to brew Mindy looks around her apartment, her eyes settling on the tulips. It’s been over a week and they’re only just beginning to droop. Normally Mindy would have taken it as a sign to remain optimistic; if the flowers could last this long surely Mindy could as well?

            Mindy grabs her phone from the counter and turns it on. After she had gotten home yesterday she turned it off in to enjoy her wine and ‘Once Upon a Time’ marathon in peace. She thought it would be a good start to her life of solitude. But except for a text from Peter and a voicemail from Betsy asking how Mindy was and if she needed coffee cake, there was nothing. Danny certainly hadn’t tried to get in touch with her. Mindy goes over to the table and grabs the vase of tulips before opening her trash can and dumping the flowers in, water and all. This is why she couldn’t be optimistic; there wasn’t anything to be optimistic about. Flowers didn’t mean anything.

* * *

  **November 15**

_Danny left for Santa Fe today. He didn’t work Monday or Tuesday and then his flight was early this morning. As acting partner Jeremy could have enforced the two week notice but who can tell a Darcy honoree no? Danny has a better future ahead and he couldn’t have picked a better person than Jillian to be at his side._

_I’m not going to lie and pretend I’m all right when I’m not. I took too long to realize what kind of a person Danny was and in the end the only thing I got was the chance to act like a lunatic in front of everyone. I wonder if Danny even meant what he said about liking me. Maybe he just felt sorry for me? Ugh, even if he did feel sorry for me it would be typical Danny to try and say something nice. I definitely should have given him more credit than I did. But now it’s too late and I have no one to blame but myself._

_Good job, Lahiri. One and a half months until the New Year and you have managed to screw up every single resolution. Wait, no! I did manage to lose five pounds. It might not be the original fifteen pound goal but it’s something. Right now I’ll take anything I can get. I’m going to end up as a spinster either way so might as well look good doing it._

_I wonder if there’s anything new at BCBG or Kate Spade for me._


	10. Chapter 10 - Fin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the last chapter to "Mindy Lahiri's Diary" and I hope you all enjoy it! I want to take this time and tell you thank you, thank you, thank you. This was absolutely a labor of love and even though it has its flaws, this is my baby and I am so proud of it and am even going to miss working on it. However, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you beautiful TMP fans. Every view, every kudo, every comment, absolutely everything you guys have done mean to world to me. Thank you. 
> 
> PS TMP FINALLY RETURNS! HALLELUJAH TO MEETING MY GOAL! Now I'm going to reward myself for finishing in time with two delicious Dandy episodes.

**November 20**

Mindy is sitting at her desk, working on paperwork for her patients when a clear cup filled with a pastel green liquid appears in front of her. She looks up and sees Peter with a bright orange bubble tea of his own. “What’s this for?” Mindy asks.

            “What?” Peter asks nonchalantly. “I passed your favorite bubble tea place on the way back from lunch and thought a Thai tea sounded delicious. I remembered you like the green tea so I decided to get you a little something.” He watches Mindy stab the plastic seal on top of the cup with a fat purple straw before continuing. “I’m worried about you, Mindy. You haven’t been the same since Danny left.” Peter sits down in one of the chairs in front of Mindy’s desk. “I mean, you’re wearing pants.”

            Mindy nearly chokes on a tapioca ball from her drink. “What is so wrong about me wearing pants? I look great, just like I always do.”

            “Sure. But this is the third time in the past week that you’ve worn pants. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen you outside the hospital in pants. If scrubs came in short skirts and dresses you would probably wear those.” Peter takes a sip of his tea and leans back. “Are you okay?”

            She looks down at her coral blouse before adjusting the leopard print scarf that hangs around her neck. “I’m fine,” Mindy shrugs.

            “Mmmhhmm,” Peter skeptically hums.

            “No, really. I’m fine. Maybe I’m wearing pants because it’s cold outside. I don’t know about you but New York City in the winter can be brutal. I’m just being proactive with the pants.”

            “Dude, it’s 55 degrees out. You know it doesn’t get cold till at least December.” Peter waits for Mindy’s reply and when she remains quiet he places his cup on her desk and crosses his arms. “What about the music you’ve been listening to?

            Mindy considers throwing the plastic straw wrapper at Peter if she knew it would land more than two inches from her desk. “First it’s my choice of clothing and now it’s my music. Please, Peter, tell me what is wrong with what I’ve been playing?” she asks in exasperation.

            “Uh, well. Where do I start? You’ve been listening to ‘Wrecking Ball’ by Miley Cyrus, ‘Without You’ by Lana Del Rey, ‘Skinny Love’ by Birdy, ‘Lies’ by Marina and The Diamonds, and ‘Someone Like You’ by Adele,” Peter answers, ticking each song off on his fingers. “Except for Miley and Adele I didn’t know who any of the other singers were. Betsy filled me in when I asked her who was dying and she told me you had the songs on repeat.”

            Fiddling with the ruffled edge of the plastic seal on her cup, Mindy doesn’t reply. She looks up and sees Peter studying her carefully. “Has it really been that bad? I guess I should have remembered how thin the office walls are. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I listened to Jewel’s ‘You Were Meant for Me’ with Cliff, the divorce lawyer from the fourth floor, after both our girls broke up with us a couple years back. I had it on repeat for like, two months until Jeremy came in and threatened to kick me out of the practice if I played it one more time.” Peter pauses before asking his next question. “Has Danny called you?”

            Mindy shakes her head. “I haven’t heard from him since our conversation at the luncheon. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.”

            Peter stands up and comes around the desk and motions for Mindy to stand up. “I can’t believe you said what you said, Mindy. But I do know that it took guts and if Danny didn’t leap off that stage and whip you up into his arms, then that’s on him. And I mean, who knows, maybe Danny is just really bad with feelings. Maybe he hasn’t called because there’s really bad signal in Santa Fe. Hey,” Peter notices Mindy wrinkling her nose at the no signal comment. “It could be true. You never know. What I’m trying to say is that this is in no way your fault. Now come on, bring it in for a hugsie.”

            Mindy lets Peter hug her. There was the possibility that Danny simply didn’t know how to react to everything Mindy had said. No matter what the reason was for Danny’s radio silence, she couldn’t let it get to her. Life would go on. She was Mindy Lahiri, MD.

            “Uh, Peter?” Mindy says slowly.

            “Yes, Mindy?”

            “Why is your hand on my butt?”

            “Too soon?” Peter loosens his grip on Mindy. “I thought a caress would cheer you up!” he replies, giving her a sly grin before breaking into a small fit of laughter.

            Pushing the chuckling Peter away, Mindy sits back down at her desk and picks up her bubble tea. “Never would be too soon. Now get out of my office and go pretend to do work or something.”

            Peter grabs his cup and salutes at Mindy before walking towards the door. “Just lay off the sad music, all right? Everything will be okay, I promise. Like my best frat buddy, Pubes, would say: if it’s not the end, have another margarita!”

            “Did he really say that?” Mindy asks incredulously. “That is the worst and not at all helpful.” Before Peter can leave, Mindy calls him back. “Hey, Peter? Thank you. For the bubble tea and the slight pep talk.”

            “No problem, brochacha.”

* * *

**November 25**

            After spending the entire Saturday at Gwen’s in Greenwich playing with Riley, Mindy is exhausted when she finally returns home. While she enjoys her time with her goddaughter, Riley is 8 years old and Mindy can only keep up for so long. Thankfully, Riley’s bedtime is at 8:00pm and after telling her to not let the bed bugs bite and then accepting the leftover pad Thai inspired soup Gwen had made for dinner, Mindy is back in her apartment at a reasonable hour.

            Mindy had just finished changing into light blue paisley nightgown when she hears her phone beep with a message. She slides her finger over the screen to unlock it and reads the message Shauna has sent.

**Hey, Mindy. What are you up to tonight? – S**

            “Uh, I’m about to climb into bed with a nice cup of cocoa and fantasize over Chris Evans in ‘Captain America,’ that’s what,” Mindy thinks out loud. She knows she can’t say that to Shauna however, not without seeming like an old maid.

**Just hanging out. You? – M**

**Bout to hit up Club Jones. You in? – S**

            Even though Mindy had taken Peter’s advice to heart and had stopped listening to her playlist at work, she was continuing to keep to herself. She still hadn’t heard anything from Danny and had finally lost all hope that she was going to. Mindy wasn’t avoiding the outside world as much as she had been but she still needed time for her wounds to completely heal.

**Think I’ll pass. Let me know for next time! I miss you and we need to get together soon! – M**

            Before she sends the message Mindy adds a smiley face and a heart emoji to Shauna’s text. She’s satisfied that she managed to make future plans with her friend without being committed to a set date or time. Shauna replies back with a kissy face and seeing as she’s done with the messaging Mindy connects her phone to the charger on her bedside table.

            Mindy takes her cup of hot chocolate, spiked with Bailey’s Irish Cream and climbs into bed to press the play button on her remote. She glances one last time at her phone before settling into her various pillows to watch her movie.

* * *

**December 1**

_It is so cold and dreary. If the temperature keeps dropping there’s a good chance that the rain will become snow, which is be fine as long as I don’t have to run around in it. Jeremy is being his usual dramatic self; he thinks the weather is unpredictable and he has decided that the practice will close a couple hours early to be on the safe side._

_Despite the weather, I am definitely not upset about today. Not only is it going to be a short work day but it's Casual Friday and I'm in jeans, which of course Peter made fun of. I got him back by asking if he was in high school with the Chuck Taylors shoes he was wearing but I didn't mean it. I really think guys only need two pairs of shoes. A nice pair of black shoes and a pair of Chuck Taylors._

_There's officially one more month left of this year and I don't know about you, diary, but I am going to do everything possible to make it the best month ever._

* * *

            Mindy gently kicks the frame of the elevator with the toe of her bright pink Hunter rain boots. She's been waiting on the elevator for the last ten minutes. Mindy knows it's working because she heard the clanging of gears but the lights for the floors switch from the lobby to the second to the fourth floor, skipping the third floor entirely.

            "Don't make me take the stairs," Mindy warns the elevator. 

            "Making empty threats to inanimate objects again, Dr. Lahiri?" asks Morgan.  

            "Maybe," Mindy answers sheepishly, looking down at the ground. "I just want to go home!" She jabs her finger at the call button on the last word for emphasis. 

            Peter comes up, slinging his messenger bag across his chest. "You got a hot date tonight? I don't remember the last time you were in such a hurry to get home."

            The elevator finally arrives and Peter allows Morgan and Mindy to step on first. He hits the button for the lobby and turns to Mindy. “So? What’s the dealio? Hot date or what?”

            Mindy wraps a soft green and magenta floral patterned scarf around her neck before answering Peter. “No, I just don’t want to get stuck in this snow. There’s no reason for me to go out in this.”

            Nudging each other in the ribs with their elbows Morgan and Peter share a look. “You’re just going to stay home then? Do you want me to bring Bones over? He’ll keep you warm and he is the best snuggler ever. You just say the word!” Morgan nods excitedly at the idea of bringing his dog over to Mindy’s.

            “I don’t think my apartment allows dogs, but thanks, Morgan,” Mindy laughs. They exit the elevator and huddle in the lobby to look outside. “It’s only rain. Is anyone going to the subway?”

            “No, Morgan and I have some things to discuss first. You go ahead. We’ll see you later.” Peter waves her off.

            After pulling out a travel sized pink umbrella from her bag, Mindy turns one last time to the two men. “Are you sure? I don’t mind waiting.”

            “Dr. Lahiri, how are you always matching? Your boots, scarf, and umbrella are all the same shade of pink! I love it. That color suits you so well. You could probably wear it all the time and everyone would just compliment you,” Morgan says earnestly.

            “Uh huh. I can tell you’re changing the subject but I’ll have you know that all my outfits are strategically planned in advanced. I think I watched ‘Clueless’ a little too much when I was a teenager. Okay, you guys win. Have a good weekend!” Mindy steps out into the blustering cold, the wind whipping her hair around her head. She pushes the umbrella open and makes her way towards the subway station.  

* * *

            Glancing out of her window Mindy sees that in only a few hours the rain has changed into fat fluffy snowflakes. The street outside is covered in a couple inches of snow. Satisfied she made the right decision in staying indoors, Mindy throws herself onto the couch and looks at the coffee table in front of her. She fingers the spine of the journal that she had used to document the last year of her life. The cream polka dots are slightly dingy when compared to how clean and brand new the book was back in January. Both the diary and Mindy had gone through a lot in the last eleven months.

            The apartment’s buzzer rings and Mindy stares at the speaker box by her door in confusion. She peels herself from off the couch and heads to the door. Mindy wasn’t expecting anyone to come by and she hesitates for a moment before pressing the button. “Hello?”

            “Hiii! It’s us!”

            Multiple voices call out but Mindy is able to place Shauna’s Jersey accent and Peter’s boisterous tone. She’s smiling when she presses the speaker again. “Come on up!” Mindy presses the entry button and unlocks her front door to wait for her friends.

            Shauna and Betsy are the first to exit the elevator and are followed by Peter and Morgan. They shake the snowflakes off their coats and jackets before entering Mindy’s apartment.

            “Dr. L!” shouts Morgan. “Have we got the most fantastic news!”

            “You don’t have Bones underneath your coat, do you?” Mindy asks.

            “No. Grandma wouldn’t let me bring him. Guess again!”

            “Oh, no. You’re not going to rap for me, are you?”

            Morgan rolls his eyes. “Sadly no, it is not that fantastic but it’s still pretty good!”

            “We’re taking you to Atlantic City for the weekend!” Betsy jumps around, tittering in excitement. “Jeremy is going to stay behind in case anyone is needed at the practice and you are coming along with the rest of us! This weekend is going to be filled with shopping and casinos and comedy shows. I think the cast from ‘Girl Code’ are doing a show tomorrow night!”

            Mindy shakes her head in disbelief while grinning at her friends. “You guys are really serious about this? We’re really going to Atlantic City?”

            Peter, who is currently rummaging through Mindy’s refrigerator, pops his head up from behind the door. “We thought you could use a little cheering up. We know you’ve been taking what happened with Danny a little hard. I still think he’s held back his feelings for you because he’s too scared to screw things up and get his heart broken even more.”

            “Mhm. Peter’s right.” Shauna flips her glossy dark curls over her shoulder. “I mean, there have been all these hints and stuff but has Danny actually ever grabbed you like he was a man and you were a woman and shoved his tongue down your throat?”

            “Nope. Not once!” Mindy laughs. Maybe she should have gone out with Shauna last weekend because now that she was in her living room, Mindy was realizing how much she missed Shauna’s blunt honesty.

            Joining Peter in the fridge raid, Morgan opens a takeout container and looks inside before turning towards Mindy. “And I wanted to apologize for the comment about Jillian and Danny making babies. I didn’t know any better. Peter and I came up with the idea this afternoon. He called Shauna and I called Betsey and Jeremy. We figured you couldn’t ignore us if we came to you.” He puts the takeout container back in the fridge before taking out a bottle of cranberry juice and setting it on the counter. “I mean, it was either that or kidnapping you. I really hoped it wouldn’t resort to kidnapping though.”

            Betsy tugs at Mindy’s arm. “Come on! Let’s go pack your bags. It’s a two hour drive and we have to be careful in this weather.” Betsy’s cheeks are flushed pink with excitement and her eyes are glittering with anticipation for the upcoming weekend’s trip.

            “Don’t forget pants, Mindy! And underwear!” Shauna calls out as Betsy drags Mindy into the walk in closet to pack.

* * *

             Shauna and Morgan are currently arguing with who called shotgun first while Betsy and Peter finish putting the bags into the trunk. Peter had rented a small hybrid SUV and managed to find a parking spot near Mindy’s apartment building.

            “Come on, Lahiri!” Peter shouts. “Hurry up!”

            “I’m just looking for my keys to lock the front!” Mindy yells back. She digs around in her purse, feeling for the key ring before triumphantly pulling them out. She shakes the keys at Peter and climbs the steps to the door.

            “Min?”

            Mindy turns towards the voice and notices Danny approaching her. “What are you doing here?”

            Danny smiles at Mindy, one of the lopsided grins that make her heart beat faster. “I just wanted to know if you were available for funerals and christenings as well as luncheon speeches. That was an excellent speech you made.”

            “I-I thought you were in Santa Fe,” Mindy stammers. She’s still holding her keys halfway to the door and once she realizes she looks like a statue she drops her arm, the keys jingling at the movement.

            “Well, I was. But I realized I had forgotten something back home,” Danny says while stepping closer to Mindy’s stoop.

            Mindy can see the snowflakes in his hair and has to force herself to not reach out and brush them off for him. “What did you forget?”

            Stepping onto the first step, Danny’s smile widens. “I realized I had forgotten to, um, kiss you goodbye. You don’t mind do you?”

            Her breath catching in her throat, Mindy stares at Danny in front of her before breaking into a huge smile. “No, not really.” Danny finishes climbing the last two steps and places his hand on her waist and begins to lean in. Mindy pulls back and asks, “So you’re not going to Santa Fe then?”

            “No.”

            “You’re going to stay in New York?” Mindy’s face begins to hurt from how hard she’s smiling but she’s too ecstatic to care.

            “So it would seem. I would have been back sooner but I had to find someone to take my place in Santa Fe. I also had really bad cell phone reception there or I would have called you.” Danny brings her in closer again, tilting his head.

            They’re interrupted by a car horn and howling coming from across the street. Morgan is hanging out the passenger window while Shauna and Betsy are yelling from the backseat. Peter stands by the back whooping at the couple on the stoop.

            “Woooo!!!! Go, Mindy! Get it, Dr. Castellano!”

            Danny laughs, letting go of Mindy’s waist. “I don’t know who those people are.”

            Mindy doubles over laughing before she straightens up, shaking her head. “Nope. I’ve never seen them a day before in my life.”

            Peter cups his hands around his mouth and shouts at Mindy. “You coming to Atlantic City or not?!”

            “Not!” Mindy calls back.

            “No room anyway!” Peter smiles and flashes Mindy two thumbs up before going around to the driver’s side.

            Rubbing a hand through his hair, Danny looks back at Mindy. “Maybe we should just go upstairs for a minute?” he asks.

            “Yes. That’s a very good idea. Come on,” Mindy agrees. She shoulders her overnight bag and opens the front door.

            Once they’re inside Mindy’s apartment Danny comes up from behind Mindy and nuzzles her neck. Mindy sighs and squirms away reluctantly. “Can you give me a minute? Here,” motioning towards the coffee table in the living room. “Keep yourself busy. Lots of high quality magazines with celebrity gossip and helpful fashion tips. I will be right back!”

            She rushes into her bedroom and closes the door before kicking off her boots and jeans. Mindy grabs her work bag and looks for her emergency underwear. “This is definitely an occasion for tiny lacy underwear!” Dumping the bag she finds that she must have used her emergency underwear at work sometime in the last week. Just as she’s about to dig through her dresser drawers she hears the front door slam.

            “Danny?” Mindy calls out from behind the door. No answer. She comes out in her baggy navy sweater with white stars and bright pink boyshort style underwear. Danny is nowhere to be found. Mindy walks to the coffee table and sees her journal open. She quickly grabs it to see what Danny could have read.

_I cannot believe it’s the day after and I’m still upset over that man. Who does he think he is? I love Rishi and I’m sure that both he and Richie had their hearts in the right place but there is absolutely no way they thought that the two of us could work. Daniel might be a handsome jerk with really nice shoulders and arms but there has to be a reason he’s divorced and single. And he’s supposed to be a doctor?! I would hate to see his bedside manners.'_

"Oh, shit! Why couldn’t he have read anything else?!” Mindy starts to head out her front door before remembering she was only in her sweater and underwear with no shoes. Sherushes back into her bedroom and pulls on her rain boots before rushing out the door.

            Once outside Mindy looks around, trying to find any sign of Danny and where he could have possibly went. She sees him turn a corner and calls out to him. He either doesn’t hear her or is choosing to ignore her.

            “Danny!” Mindy yells again before taking off after him.

            The snow is coming down even harder now but Mindy swats the snowflakes away from her face. Danny is too far to hear her but she can’t let him get away, not again. Mindy runs down the block, ignoring the cold wind blowing against her naked legs and the curious looks passerby’s are giving her. She finally reaches a small group of shops and stops when she realizes Danny is official gone. Mindy covers her face and after letting out a small frustrated scream she turns around, only to see Danny standing in front of her.

               “I’m so sorry. Danny, I am so unbelievably sorry.” Mindy rushes out. “I didn’t mean it. No, I did mean it but I was so stupid that I didn’t mean what I meant.” She notices Danny’s lack of response and feels the sting of tears forming behind her eyes. “It’s only a diary. Everyone knows diaries are full of crap.”

            “Yes, I know. I was just buying you a new one.” Danny pulls out a red leather bound journal and shows it to Mindy before tucking it inside his coat. “Time to make a new start, perhaps.”

            Mindy lets out a deep breath she wasn’t even aware she was holding before walking over to Danny. She looks at him and smiles hopefully. Danny closes the distance between them, cupping the side of her face and looking into her brown eyes. Danny rubs his thumb across her cheekbone before pressing his lips to Mindy’s. He kisses her with a longing desire Mindy is all too familiar with.  

            Feeling a hand creep onto her backside, Mindy finally breaks the kiss and smiles at Danny. “Wait a minute. Nice boys don’t kiss like that,” she says breathlessly.

            “Oh, yes, they fucking do,” Danny answers before pulling her back in for another kiss. The snow continues to fall as he wraps his coat around the two of them, both lost in their own little world in the middle of New York City.


End file.
